Euro Weekly News - Costa Blanca North 20 - 26 May 2021 Issue 1872

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The people’s paper ISSUE NO. 1872

20 - 26 May 2021

Healthy crops ALICANTE Province produced 87,510 tons of organic crops last year, principally grapes, almonds, olives used for oil, cereals, citrus fruit and vegetables while the number of organic growers increased by 8.9 per cent.

COSTA BLANCA NORTH • WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM

HONOURED

High life A 36-YEAR-OLD Denia man was accused of stealing €840,000 from the restaurant where he worked first as a waiter and later manager, allegedly using the money for a villa, designer clothes and holidays.

On hand ONCE Jalon’s new €7.1 million school for pupils aged between two and 16 is finished, older children from Jalon, Alcalali and Lliber will no longer have to travel each day to Benissa’s Instituto.

Turn to page 4 » ROYAL VISIT: King Felipe, Francisco Brines and Queen Letizia in L’Elca (Oliva).

Beaches’ timetable

BENIDORM Town Hall has set opening hours for its beaches and coves from 7am until 11pm.

The decision was based on the ‘evolution of the cur‐ rent situation of the health crisis’ and the end of the State of Alarm, although the principal beaches will still be divided into marked‐out sec‐ tions to maintain social dis‐ tancing.

THE BEST FINANCE NEWS ON PAGES 34 - 37 FREE • GRATIS

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Clean-up on the run TWO Javea high schools joined forces not long ago to protect the environment.

They did this with a session of Plogging, an activity that combines sport with clearing and tidying their surroundings.

The initiative originated with the Erasmas+ environment and sustainability programme, which also supports education, training, youth and sport in Europe.

The current project is the result of the Antoni Llido’s ‘Little Green Steps, Big Global

PLOGGING: Sport and cleaning the environment resulted in 15 bags of rubbish.

Changes’ scheme that they are carrying out with the school’s counterparts in the Austrian Ty-

Help for sportspeople FINESTRAT Town Hall is providing grants for local sportspeople who compete at national and international level.

Ranging from €200 to a maximum of €2,000, the grants are available to residents registered on the municipal Padron, an‐ nounced Finestrat’s mayor Juanfran Perez Llorca.

“We have increased our agreements with local football, vol‐ leyball or taekwondo clubs, amongst others, during the crisis,” he said. “Now, for the first time and in public recognition of their efforts, we are providing grants for sportspeople who compete individually in official championships here and abroad.”

rol, together with the Instituto Numero Uno’s ‘Learning Sustainability’ project that involves three other European schools.

With Numero Uno setting out from the Arenal Point and the Antoni Llido from the Port, both groups met at the Montañar beach after collecting more than 15 bags of cans, plastic bottles, fishing lines and, above all, cigarette ends.

Between them, Javea’s two Institutos explained that they are working hard to highlight the need to keep the beaches and coast clean while producing less rubbish and disposing correctly of any that is generated.

More work for A and E THE A and E department at the Marina Baja hospital in Villajoyosa is working at pre-pandemic levels again.

With the State of Alarm lifted and movement permitted between regions, in addition to an influx of tourists and the owners of second residences, the hospital has been attending to an average of between 180 and 190 patients a day, compared to 130 before.

During the three Covid waves the number of A and E cases plummeted to around 50 cases a day, hospital sources told the lo-

cal Spanish media.

Although some emergency patients are seriously ill or injured, others are attending A and E for minor complaints they would not have sought help for during the worst of the pandemic, confirmed Dr Rosa Louis Cereceda, the director of the Marina Baja Health Area as well as the hospital.

Dr Louis also predicted that the possible effects of reduced restrictions on the spread of the virus would start to be apparent in the two weeks following the end of the State of Alarm.

Carp Proved Elusive

THE Teulada-Moraira Fishing Club were out last week on Section B2 of the River Jucar in neighbouring Valencia.

There were 12 contestants fishing on a bright and sunny day, with great weather from the start with the air temperature rising to 23 degrees and water at 19 degrees, said club secretary Jeff Richards.

There was little flow on the river and most of the 51 fish caught were carasio (Carassius) weighing a total of 49.5 kilo, but overall it was a good day’s fishing, with only one empty net.

“Considering that there was a national competition the previous week, we did better than expected,” Jeff said.

The next competition will be held on Wednesday, May 26 when they will be fishing Section B1.

Contact Frank Povey 966 490 338 or frank.povey@btopenworld. com or call Ray Craig on 966 492 083.

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Revamped Old Town BENITACHELL Town Hall has revamped the Plaza de la Iglesia.

Two municipallyowned buildings adjoining the church have been repainted, their woodwork and blinds restored, and plants added under the town hall’s programme to make improvements to the Old Town.

Information panels have also been installed throughout the centre of Benitachell along the Museu al Vent (Open-air Museum) route giving details of the town’s past via its characteristic architecture.

“We want this route to tell visitors more about the town’s history and heritage and to put Benitachell on the map as more than a destination with beaches and coves,” said sources at the town hall’s Tourism department.

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NIBS EXTRA On a diet BENIDORM’S Public Spaces and Environment departments launched a campaign discouraging the public from feeding the pigeons, especially in garden areas, owing to both the hygiene and cleaning problems involved. The campaign was nothing new, the town hall pointed out, as a by-law has prevented this for several years.

Historic site THE owners of El Poblet in Petrer, the seat of Spain’s last Republican government in 1939, are fighting the Generalitat’s decision to declare it an Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC). Having started legal proceedings against the regional government, all visits by the public have been temporarily suspended.

No problem WORK on the €4.086 million final phase of remodelling Altea’s seafront is due to begin on May 24. This will include creating another beach between La Roda and L’Espigo, but the town hall has reassured bars and restaurants that the 12-month project will not affect their terraces.

Too much THE unloved restoration of Javea’s Sant Bertomeu parish church, built between the 14th and 16 centuries, has earned more criticism. Not content with adding unnecessary crenellations to the tower, plus a small ultra-modern clock, the restorers have enhanced the façade’s statue of Sant Bertomeu with a stonework garland.

Not yet SPAIN’S Ministry of the Interior announced a €3 million allocation for a new National Police station in Benidorm. Government sources revealed that work would start ‘soon’ but failed to name a date for making a start on a much-needed substitute for the overcrowded and inadequate current station premises.

Top notch ALICANTE UNIVERSITY’S School of Nursing was ranked first in a survey compiled each year by the CyD Foundation and sponsored by the Santander Group. A Health Sciences degree from Alicante University met more CyD criteria than any of the 77 public and private universities analysed for the survey.

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One for the twitchers

THE Pego-Oliva Marsh now has two birdwatching routes with information panels and QR codes linked to the Pego and Valls Tourism webpage.

“Birdwatching is a strategic tourism product for two important reasons,” declared Francesc Colomer, regional secretary for Tourism.

“For one thing it is linked to compliance with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals,” Colomer said. “For another it helps to segment and specialise the tourist offer.”

The regional secretary described birdwatching as a “vigorous” product, above all in Eu-

PEGO-OLIVA MARSH: Francesc Colomer inspecting one of the information panels. rope and Britain, where its many enthusiasts are willing to travel to new and unusual places to enjoy their hobby.

Colomer was speaking during a visit to the park where he

was shown the two new routes, accompanied by Pego’s mayor Enrique Moll, Tourism councillor Ricardo Sendra and the the Pego-Oliva national park’s managing director, Jose-

ba Rodriguez.

Turisme CV, the Valencian Community’s Tourism department, has allocated €14,272 to the project and Colomer thanked Pego for its “admirable proposal” of turning a natural space like the marsh into a wellloved and sought-after place for learning more.

The Tourism chief also announced that Turisme CV will help the Pego-Oliva marsh’s birdwatching project with promotional campaigns linked to birdwatching.

“Activities like Pego’s will always have an ally in Turisme,” Colomer pledged.

Tragic Discovery Of Missing British Woman’s Body THE lifeless body of missing British woman, Suzanne Knowles, was tragically found on Tuesday May 11.

According to sources, Suzanne was dis‐ covered close to her home in Forna, around 20 miles inland from Denia.

Her two children flew to Spain on the evening of Monday May 10 in a desperate bid to find their mother and a large number

Vaccination drive intensifies ALFAZ’S senior citizens’ centre, the Hogar del Pensionista will be used as a mass vaccination cen‐ tre.

The campaign begins on May 24 in line with the regional Health department’s timetable for age groups.

Dr Rosa Louis Cereceda, the managing director of the Marina Baja Hospital and also head of the Marina Baja Health Area, re‐ cently visited the centre, accom‐ panied by Alfaz’s Health council‐ lor Marisa Cortes and other Marina Baja health officials.

This was not the party’s first time in Alfaz as they have recent‐ ly paid several visits to the Mari‐ na Alta, seeking the best loca‐ tions for mass vaccination centres.

Meanwhile, the Health de‐ partment stressed that all those wishing to be vaccinated should ensure that their health card (SIP) details are up‐to‐date as these will be used to contact them via telephone with the time and date for their vaccination.

For queries call the 900 300 555 freephone number, or visit the health centre or Alfaz’s Social Welfare department.

of volunteers also searched routes where they believed the woman could be found af‐ ter she went missing on Saturday, May 8.

Suzanne, 51, was last seen a few miles away in her beige Fiat van and the Guardia Civil quickly issued a ‘Desaparecida’ (Disap‐ peared) post on social media in a bid to lo‐ cate her.

It is believed that Suzanne’s body may

have been at the location where she was eventually discovered from Saturday May 8 as calls to her phone had not been an‐ swered.

No further information regarding the cause of death has been disclosed, however, it is believed that no third parties were in‐ volved. The family have asked for respect at this sad time.

Outpatients’ care for distraught mother A YOUNG woman who threw herself with her baby daughter in her arms from Denia castle in 2017 will not go to prison.

Although mother and child suffered serious injuries when she jumped 70 metres from the castle battlements, their fall was broken by security netting.

She faced a 20‐year term in a psychiatric prison but is instead

receiving outpatients’ care con‐ trolled by Denia’s Mental Health Unit.

She admitted during her re‐ cent trial at Alicante High Court that she was unable to recall what happened that day.

When sentencing, the tri‐ bunal agreed that at the time of the incident the accused was in the grip of major depression

Grounds for mild optimism HOTELIERS’ association Hosbec views the current tourism with “mild optimism.”

With travel restrictions lifted, Costa Blanca hotels are looking forward to improved bookings, but as demand from the national market in‐ creased, Hosbec pointed out that these figures bore little resemblance to May 2019’s.

Twenty‐three per cent of the Benidorm hotels that belong to Hosbec are currently open, and as they prepared for the first full weekend with mobility between regions, they expected 60.7 per cent occupancy.

Hosbec’s 25 Costa Blanca hotels ‐ excluding Benidorm ‐ prepared for 70.9 per cent, but all were banking on last‐minute bookings based on the good weather and high temperatures.

“These are encouraging figures, but very far from what would have been considered normal before March 14, 2020,” Hosbec said.

“Firstly because these are weekend occupancy figures and secondly because we need to recover the senior and international markets that guarantee the longer stays that give stability to the hotel sector.”

as well as a schizoaffective dis‐ order.

Both had combined to di‐ minish ‘or even annul’ her fac‐ ulties and she was not aware of her actions, the judges ruled, while taking into account a re‐ port from her doctors, stating that her present treatment has stabilised her present treat‐ ment.

No protest planned CALPE’S Fishing Guild coun‐ tered Vox party claims that it intended to demonstrate against new EU regulations.

There were no plans to re‐ main in port like Santa Po‐ la’s boats or to organise a protest, a Fishing Guild statement maintained.

Nevertheless, the commu‐ nique continued, the local fishing industry would hap‐ pily cooperate with any po‐ litical party or trade union in discussing the sector’s fu‐ ture, but would only partici‐ pate in a protest organised by the Alicante or Valencian guilds.

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Live music and wine-tasting A SERIES of concerts will combine wine‐tast‐ ing in Marina Alta wineries with the best live music this summer.

Parties for the three‐ hour sessions that will take place on Wednes‐ days from late June un‐ til early August are lim‐ ited to a maximum of 25 people and cost €49 per person.

The first concert is scheduled for June 23 and will be held at the Casa Agricola Pepe Mendoza in Lliber with jazz from the Enric Pei‐ dro Quartet.

June 30 sees Blues from Sara Gee and Ramblin Matt at Les Freses in Jesus Pobre.

Further details about the July and August programmes are avail‐ able on the www.meli catesen.com website.

Open all hours FROM mid‐June on‐ wards, shops in Benidorm may now open on Sundays and fiesta days.

Commerce council‐ lor Lorenzo Martinez confirmed the move after the edict, which remains in force for the next four years, was announced last week in the Valencian Community’s Official Bulletin.

Benidorm is now classed as a Populous Tourist Zone (ZGAT), a designation that Mar‐ tinez said was “good news” for the sector.

The only exceptions are October 9 ‐ Valen‐ cian Community Day ‐ as well as December 25 or December 26 if Christmas Day falls on a Sunday, and January 1.

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Alicante A special Royal visit Speed Cameras SPAIN’S King Felipe, accompanied by Queen Letizia, visited Oliva (Valencia) to present this year’s Cervantes Prize for Literature.

The award went to the poet Francisco Brines and ordinarily the prize‐winner would have been present at the ceremony which is held each year on April 23 in Alcala de Henares (Madrid), but Brines’ delicate state of health prevented this.

Nor was he able to travel to Valencia City when the regional president Ximo Puig offered the Palau de la Generalitat palace as a closer alternative.

Instead, King Felipe and the Queen last week presented the award in person at Brines’ home in L’Elca in Oliva, which has inspired much of his poetry.

The poet was not told of the impending royal visit until the previous day to avoid “unnecessary anxiety” his family explained.

Francisco Brines, who was born in Oliva in 1932 and has a degree in Law, Philosophy, Literature and History, was Reader in Spanish Literature at Cambridge and Professor of Spanish at Oxford.

He has an honorary doctorate from the Polytechnic University of Valencia and is a Member of Spain’s Royal Academy.

The formal part of the visit concluded, the King told Brines, “What a pleasure it is to be able to come here and, above all, thank you for inviting us to your home” describing it as a “little par‐ adise.”

The poet showed the royal couple his gardens with their privileged view of the Montgo moun‐ tain and, before they left, presented them with his collected poems, ‘Ensayo de una despedida’ (Rehearsal of a farewell).

A R EC E N T report from Spain’s Directorate General of Traffic (DGT), has re‐ vealed that their data shows that there are two speed cameras in the province of Alicante in the Community of Valencia which are among the coun‐ try’s top 50 most prolific radars when it comes to speeding fines handed out.

They say that the camera located on the N‐332, at Km140, in the municipality of Villajoyosa (La Vila Joiosa) is the one that clocked the most speeding drivers, registering 14,581 violations in 2020, which works out to around 40 fines per day, and places t h e c a m e r a i n 2 7 t h p o s i‐ tion in the list of cameras around the country.

Just behind that one comes the camera located on the A‐70, near the San Juan (Sant Joan) tunnel at Km2, which is in 35th posi‐ tion, having registered 13,731 speeding infringe‐ ments.

In fact, the DGT reveals that seven cameras in the province of Valencia are among the ones which is‐ sued the most fines during 2020, with one camera lo‐ cated at Km5 on the V‐13 apparently registering more than 130 speeding of‐ fences every day in 2020.

This report comes just as new speed regulations came into force through‐ out Spain on urban roads, where one lane of traffic in each direction will be limit‐ ed to 30kph an hour, while those with two or more lanes of traffic in each di‐ rection will remain at 50kph.

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AWAY DAY AT VILLAITANA, LEVANTE COURSE WITH work being carried out at Oliva this week, 12 members travelled to Benidorm for a stableford competi‐ tion sponsored by the society.

The weather was warm and sunny and everyone enjoyed the day.

The winner this week was George Braddick with 36 points, followed by Sue Burman on countback from Ge‐ off Willcock with 35 points.

Nearest the pins went to Geoff and Alan Lowans. Sally Cottrell and Ilona Mathieu won a prestigious Montgo ball each with twos.

Oliva will be back to normal work‐ ings next week and their competi‐ tion is the Founder’s Cup sponsored

by Russ Peters.

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Arts and Crafts Fair H OT E L M E L I Ã V I L L A I T A N A in Benidorm has added an authentic arts and crafts fair to their pro‐ gramme of cultural activities for the public in general: every Saturday af‐ ternoon a group of artisans will set up their stalls in the central square which is built like a typical Mediter‐ ranean village, to show and sell their work to guests and visitors from outside the resort.

Meliã Villaitana has asked the craft association Amata to organise the event, so that you can be sure that everything in the fair is hand‐ made by the participants. To start with, there will be a dozen or so stalls, each one offering something different, which could be pottery or oil paintings, silver jewellery, em‐

bossed leather books and bags, carved wood or beautiful glass ani‐ mals and jewellery, paper maché or bronze sculptures, hand‐made soft toys, and lots more.

Meliã Villaitana is situated in the Avenida Alcalde Eduardo Zaplana, which is near Terra Mítica. It counts with four and five star hotels, two golf courses, a spa, bars, restau‐ rants, swimming pools and sports accommodation. You can visit the fair every Saturday afternoon in May and June from 6pm till mid‐ night (but don’t forget the curfew!) and there is plenty of free parking space near the fair.

For more information about the fair you can phone Amata (they speak English!) on 639 979 678.

OIL PAINTINGS: Just one of the many stalls on offer.

VACANT POSITION Age Concern needs a volunteer driver to cover Wednesday mornings.

Must have a Spanish licence.

Please contact 966 786 887 for an appointment.

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British Embassy run for mental health ON Saturday May 15, UK government staff and family members around the world took part in a unique, 24‐hour global marathon relay to support global and local mental health charities. So far over £15,000 has been raised in support of Mind and more in support of local charities, including here in Spain.

At 08.00 (CET) HMA Hugh Elliott’s wife Toñi picked up the virtual baton from Riyadh and over 30 people from across the Spain Network then joined the run, kicking off their mile at 10‐minute intervals, accompa‐ nied by children and assorted animals.

Participants included HMA Hugh Elliott,

Consul‐General Lloyd Milen, as well as staff from the Embassy in Madrid, the Depart‐ ment of International Trade and consulates in Alicante, Barcelona and Palma.

Runners across the world chose different ‘batons’ depending on the country with the fan being the baton of choice here in Spain.

To find more about the work of Mind or to make a donation visit: https://www.mind. org.uk/.

See more of the action at: https://www.in stagram.com/p/CO5XBdQj3Ue/ Further information: Debbi Christophers; 673 596 770 Follow us online: www.gov.uk/fcdo

Ferry To Link Portugal And UK BRITTANY FERRIES is considering opening a link between the UK and Portugal beginning this month. The cost of plane tickets has apparently gone up by up to 600 per cent following the health crises, causing a plan to be developed for a ferry between the two destinations, Portugal Residents reports.

Brittany Ferries has not yet ‘properly decided’ the route, however, they are seriously considering it. The ferry service already runs a route from Santander, Spain, to Roscoff, France, however, neither of these destinations are on the UK’s ‘green list’ for travel without

having to quarantine.

Portuga’s ‘pole position’ when it comes to ‘safe and easy-to-reach sunshine destinations’ is giving the idea of a ferry service from the UK to Portugal some serious momentum.

The ferry would depart from either Plymouth or Portsmouth and arrive in Porto. It would be an approximately 30-hour trip and cost a minimum of £150 (around €174). The company has said that the ferry would most certainly only be available to those travelling with cars and will not be available for pedestrians.

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Sanatorium Untouched FONTILLES, a small walled town, hidden in the moun‐ tains, in the natural area of the Vall de Laguar, in the province of Alicante, is home to a private foundation that opened in 1909, which in the 1950s was inhabited by 450 leprosy patients, whereas today, just 12 patients re‐

main there, with the condi‐ tion eradicated in Spain, on‐ ly around 10 or 12 new cases are diagnosed each year, and can be cured.

A facility for treating lep‐ rosy needed plenty of venti‐ lation, and a good supply of water, making Fontilles the perfect location, where

Cleared Over 9,000 Party Revellers SPANISH police said they had to clear more than 9,000 revellers from Barcelona’s city centre streets and the nearby beach on Sunday, May 16, so as to prevent dangerous overcrowding on the first full weekend after Covid-19 restrictions were lifted.

Many in the crowd (mainly youths) had taken part in mass drinking sessions known as ‘botellones’, police said. Culture Minister José Manuel Rodríguez Uribes, speaking at an event in Madrid, urged young people to continue to follow social distancing rules.

The Spanish government recently lifted a six-month State of Alarm on May 9 at midnight (22.00 GMT), so this was the first chance for revellers to party throughout the weekend.

There are still some restrictions in place. In Catalonia whose capital is Barcelona, bars and restaurants are open from 7am until 11pm and the maximum number of people allowed at tables is four.

slowly the small town was transformed into the com‐ plex it is today, with pavil‐ ions for men and women, rooms for married couples, a Jesuit church, a bar, a farm, plus a theatre.

There is also a nursing home with a rehabilitation hospital for postoperative patients, with chronic or ter‐ minal pathologies, and the complex also houses a dozen former leprosy patients, and a laboratory specialising in this bacterial infection, with the local authorities arrang‐ ing placement for the elder‐ ly, and risk groups, normally having between 110 and 125 residents at any one time.

Since the start of the pan‐ demic, there has not been a single case of coronavirus in any of the residents in the Alicante sanatorium, and no deaths, with every resident having been vaccinated, and the foundation’s resident professionals are proud of this statistic.

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Skeletal donkey needing help

THE Easy Horse Care Rescue Centre has seen more than enough cases of neglect and abuse over the years, but as new cases come in, it still shocks co-founders Sue and Rod Weeding to the core and pulls at their heart strings.

Despite being so strapped for cash for the rescue centre, the couple simply can’t say no.

Just this week they had yet another call from the police saying they had found an abandoned donkey in a skeletal condition, covered in sores, and tied up with metal chains by the river in Algorfa.

The rescue came just weeks after the Easy Horse Care Rescue Centre received a call from Spav La Vila Joiosa, a rescue centre in Villajoyosa about a donkey abandoned in a ruin in a small village. They don’t have the facilities to deal with a larger animal and called Easy Horse Care for help and assistance.

Sue said the conditions were appalling: “We found the poor little guy in this hell hole, alone in his dirty pen. We were told he was fed bread by the neighbours after the owner had vanished.” He needed urgent attention from their equine vet Dorothea who was worried about his stomach and

Everything comes from Rod and Sue’s own pockets or through public donations and now need help more than ever. Their van, which is vital to the charity shops to help collect donations is currently in the garage and repairs are expected to cost between €1,000-€1,500 and €5,000 is still owed to the Alicante horse hospital for previous treatments. “We are so strapped for cash and are struggling, but if we say no there is no other option for these animals.”

For more information on the work the Rescue Centre does, volunteering or to make a donation, visit website www.easyhorsecare.net.

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Sixteen Passengers Injured ACCORDING to sources from the Valencia Local Police and the Information Centre and Emergency Coordination (CICU), an accident on Friday afternoon (May 14) between a car and a bus belonging to the Municipal Transport Company (EMT), left 16 persons with varying injuries, in Valencia City.

An EMT bus was involved.

After receiving a call at 4.40pm, the CICU mobilised three ambulances, two of them Basic Life Support (SVB), and a third medical vehicle for unassisted transport - to transfer any seriously injured passengers to hospital - to the scene of the accident at the junction of the Aragón bridge and Avenida Jacinto Benavente.

Two Local Police patrols also attended and assisted with traffic flow and aided with the Valencia bus crash, which, according to sources, happened when the No 92 bus driver braked to avoid colliding with the car, as a result of which, several passengers suffered injuries.

Officers from the Unit for Attempts and Accident Investigation of the Local Police of Valencia were deployed to the incident to determine the cause of the crash and to take charge of the incident, during which a statement was taken from the EMT driver. All injured passengers were identified and listed, and the damage to vehicles noted.

Seven of the injured bus passengers were taken to the Hospital Clínico and La Fe, while the other injured passengers received treatment from health professionals at the scene, most suffering cuts from glass shattered in the collision.

Caught With Illegal Blue Fin Tuna RESCUED: The donkey was abandoned in a ruin in a small village. he continues to be monitored.

The Rescue Centre, based in Rojales, continues to be at the forefront of such rescues and are the first point of contact

for the authorities when they are dealing with animal abuse and neglect, however they still receive no funding or financial support.

THE Provincial Maritime Service (SMP) of the Guardia Civil in Alicante Province, on the Costa Blanca, in the last few days has discovered fishermen who had caught and were trying to sell, bluefin tuna (Thunnus Thynnus), in the two ports of Altea and Villajoyosa, both in the comarca of Marina Baixa.

They found four of the illegally caught blue fin tuna, each fish weighing around 70 kilos each, which according to the officers, had been already cut up into pieces in the boats, presumably to hide them from possible detection by the authorities, in order to sell them on to restaurants at a knocked down price in the two ports.

A spokesman for the Guardia Civil said, “Normally, the fish is quickly sold to a local restaurant who buys it at a price much lower than the legal market price of around €50 per kilo, with the detriment of not knowing its origin, as well as the lack of any type of sanitary control.”

The fishermen, if found guilty of a serious breach of maritime law, could face a fine of up to €60,000.

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Masks On Beaches Or Else

BRITISH tourists were handed on arrival into Portugal’s Faro airport, face masks and sani‐ tiser after which they were asked to provide full details about their stay as they touched down in the country for the start of long‐ awaited sunshine breaks.

All Brits arriving in the country were also warned by officials at the airport of the strict rules for wearing face masks in public places, which includes keeping them on while on the beach or they could be hit with hefty €117 fines.

Passengers in arrivals were asked by immi‐ gration officials to produce proof of a nega‐ tive PCR test and show that they had com‐ pleted a locator form, with details of where they are staying before being allowed to pro‐ ceed on to the baggage hall.

It comes as the Portuguese tourism minis‐

Face masks must be worn on the each. ter announced at the weekend that “every‐ thing is open” for British tourists when bor‐ ders open. The Secretary of State for Tourism, Rita Marques, revealed that restau‐ rants, coffee shops, and bars had been opened up in time for an expected influx of holidaymakers this week.

Pregnant Women & Vulnerable Adults PREGNANT women and vulnerable adolescents aged between 12 years old and 15 years can now be vaccinated in Spain according to a report published by the Ministry of Health.

The decision was approved on Tuesday May 11 as the seventh vaccine strategy update was approved by the Public Health Commission.

The report includes pregnant women and states that, “In general, no increased risk of se-

vere Covid has been detected as a result of being pregnant, beyond the risk conditions that the woman presents.” The report proposes that for pregnant and breastfeeding women, the messenger R N A technology vaccines should be used. This means the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, and it suggests that pregnant women should be vaccinated as appropriate “according to the prioritisation group.”

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Overtime is a serious danger

THE Environment Director of WHO, María Neir said: “Working 55 hours or more a week represents a serious danger to health. It is time for all of us (governments, em‐ ployers and workers) to recognise that long working hours can cause premature deaths.”

The study was carried out using data from previous stud‐ ies published in the Environ‐

Long working hours.

UK ‘Faces Labour Shortage’ EMPLOYERS in Britain are struggling as they attempt to hire staff quickly as the UK lockdown lifts, but many overseas workers that have previously been depended on have left due to pressures of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and Brexit.

According to both the recruitment firm Adecco and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), employers will be hiring at a rate which has not been seen in around eight years. The rush to hire people has been caused by the reopening of retail and hospitality sectors as coronavirus restrictions are eased.

Recently the UK has seen unemployment rates stabilise which was helped when the furlough scheme was extended until the end of September.

ment International Journal.

The conclusion was that working 55 hours or more per week increases the risk of a cerebrovascular accident (CVA) by 35 per cent and in‐ creases the risk of death from ischemic heart disease by 17 per cent, in comparison to those who work 35 to 40 hours per week.

“Although it is known that around a third of the total es‐ timated morbidity in relation to work is attributed to long hours of work, the reality is that it is the first risk factor for occupational disease,” said WHO. Out of the deaths recorded, most were in people aged 60 to 79 who worked 55 hours or more per week when aged between 45 and 74 years old.

“We have not found any difference between the sexes with regard to the effect of long working hours on the in‐ cidence of cardiovascular dis‐ eases,” WHO specialist, Frank Pega, informed a press con‐ ference.

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NEWS

Tea Will Taste different The 90-day rule

A RECENT report from the charity organisation, Chris‐ tian Aid, has said that Kenya ‐ the African country that is the world’s largest exporter of black tea ‐ is facing a crisis that could challenge a great British in‐

stitution, the tea drinkers.

According to their research, extreme weather conditions in Kenya are causing more errat‐ ic periods of rainfall, meaning the country suffers droughts and then mass floods, which, combined with rising temper‐

atures will affect the amount of land that stays workable for growing tea plants, and the change in climate will also af‐ fect the production of the leaves that are turned into black tea.

Their report has also pre‐ dicted that as a result of cli‐ mate change, by 2050, tea production will drop by around 39 per cent, as grow‐ ing conditions will not be opti‐ mal, and Fiachra Moloney, of PG Tips maker Unilever, added, “In East Africa, where so much of our tea comes from, climate change is putting the livelihoods of the people who grow tea for us at risk.”

Speaking to the press, a tea farmer from Kericho in Kenya’s Western Highlands, 72‐year‐old Richard Koskei, said climate change is “a real threat. We cannot predict sea‐ sons anymore, temperatures are rising, rainfall is more er‐ ratic, more often accompa‐ nied by unusual hailstones and longer droughts which was not the case in the past.”

A LETTER recently received from a very upset UK-based reader about the 90/180 day rule concerning visits to Spain has highlighted a problem which needs addressing.

In 2013 the couple purchased a second home in Murcia so that they could enjoy the much milder winters and used to spend from October to March which was beneficial to their health.

Now, since Brexit (which incidentally they didn’t vote for) they can only stay for 90 days rather than their usual six months which means that quite understandably they are upset and seriously considering selling their property and purchasing a new one elsewhere.

In their letter, they suggest that Spain is being short sighted by introducing this regulation especially as they know of people in a similar situation who are spending money during the Spanish ‘down season’ and can’t understand why this rule is being enforced.

Sadly, what they don’t appreciate - and it is quite difficult to fully

SAME RULE: These are the 26 Schengen member States. understand why this situation should exist - is that this is not Spain being difficult, but a rule established for every member of the Schengen zone.

This means that British citizens who were allowed to stay almost indefinitely can now only spend 90 days out of 180 days across the Schengen zone This means that many of the more obvious choices for resettlement within relatively easy flying times from the UK and in the sunnier climates such as France, Greece, Italy, Malta and Portugal are in exactly the same situation as Spain.

Many other European Countries allow just 60 to 90 days visit unless you have a student visa and the only way round the problem is to purchase a Gold Visa (in Spain the minimum requirement is €500,000 in real estate) or to apply for residency which would allow you to travel between the UK and Spain.

There are of course tax implications in taking residency in Spain, but as this couple have owned a property here since 2013, it may be an option but they would need to take advice from a local lawyer and be prepared for quite a long wait.

To read more stories like this go to ww.euroweeklynews.com

NEWS

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20 - 26 May 2021

Patient With Indian Variant Positive case Extremadura.

THE Extremadura Health Service (SES) which is close to the Portuguese border, has confirmed the positive test of a worker at the health centre in the town of Miajadas (Cáceres) that corresponds to the Indian variant. A direct relative of the couple has tested posi‐

Dutch Fugitive Arrested NATIONAL POLICE in Torremolinos, Malaga, are reported to have detained a 35-year-old man of Dutch nationality on April 30, who has an outstanding arrest warrant against him from German authorities.

During a routine traffic control, the man was the passenger in a vehicle wjocj was stopped by the officers, and when investigated, they found that ‘AR’ had the European arrest and surrender order (OEDE) in his name in Germany, so he was promptly arrested at the scene.

The man has a possible maximum 15-year sentence pending against him, is wanted in connection with a handful of criminals who targeted ATM machines, committed between December 2018 and January 2019, blowing them up with explosives to steal the money, and reportedly getting away with a total of €116,000 during the last ATM attack.

The wanted Dutch fugitive has been placed at the disposal of the Central Court of Instruction No5 of the National Court, where he will go before a judge.

tive with suspicion of carry‐ ing the Indian variant, but is pending confirmation by genomic sequencing.

All three people are in isolation at the health cen‐ tre, which on Friday May 14 suspended all appoint‐ ments as a preventative measure. The health work‐ ers at the complex were screened and all tested negative. In total, 71 tests have been carried out, 23 of them on close contacts of the couple.

The protocol was activat‐ ed late in the evening on Thursday May 13 when the health workers who had di‐ rect contact with the cou‐ ple were alerted followed by members of the public that had been to the centre recently.

The partner of the infected person is negative and a test has also been done on anoth‐ er contact. The necessary pro‐ tocols are now in place and the centre is back to treating patients as normal.

EWN 11

Eligible for paternity leave

THE 16th Social Court of Valen‐ cia has recognised a mother’s right to an additional eight weeks of paternity leave to care for her child in a single‐parent family, acknowledging that the child’s “time of care that is guar‐ anteed by law cannot be re‐ duced” because “having only one parent cannot reduce the time of care that is guaranteed by law.”

Mother’s right recognised.

In a case defended by the trade union CSIF, the court up‐

Lockdown Eases in UK THE UK is experiencing delight at restrictions been eased, although anxiety over the Indian variant is growing. On Monday May 17 Brits were able to eat indoors at restaurants and also grab a pint inside a pub. These are freedoms that many had been waiting a long time for.

In England it is now also possible to hug friends and family or visit a museum. Something that many people have been eagerly awaiting is being allowed to visit loved ones’ homes after many months of being kept apart.

Travel restrictions are also eased although the green list has a limited amount of countries on it at the moment.

Businesses though including entertainment and hospitality venues are worried that until they can hit full capacity, they will not be able to make enough money. Currently this is expected to happen on June 21, but this could still change.

holds part of the woman’s argu‐ ment and holds the National So‐ cial Security Institute and the General Treasury of the Social Se‐ curity to this declaration. After taking her maternity leave, tje woman demanded the addition‐ al 12 weeks that would corre‐ spond to the father as a single‐ parent household.

The judge, on the other hand, partly agreed with the woman, stating that because the law stipu‐ lates that four weeks of paternal leave must be taken immediately after the birth and the remaining eight weeks after the birth, and because the mother had taken those four weeks immediately af‐ ter giving birth, “that time cannot be regarded as a violation of the principle of equality.”

Therefore, they consider that they are only entitled to the re‐ maining eight weeks of leave for the birth and care of the child, as this is the period which “neither the applicant nor the child have actually taken because they are a single parent, and this difference cannot be admissible under inter‐ national and constitutional law.”

To read more stories like this go to ww.euroweeklynews.com

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NEWS

EU citizens’ border ordeal in UK 2,700 people extradited

EU people have been hand‐ cuffed at British airports, forced to sleep in parked bus‐ es, and refused access to

Martin Bashir Quits MARTIN BASHIR has quit the BBC on health grounds just be‐ fore the publication of an investi‐ gation into his conduct in secur‐ ing a 1995 Panorama interview with Diana, Princess of Wales ‐ he has been on sick leave for several months.

The BBC’s deputy director of news, Jonathan Munro said: “Martin Bashir has stepped down from his position as the BBC’s religion editor and is leav‐ ing the corporation. He let us know his decision last month, just before being readmitted to hos‐ pital for another surgical proce‐ dure on his heart. Although he underwent major surgery at the end of last year, he is facing some ongoing issues and has decided to focus on his health.”

He added: “We wish him a complete and speedy recovery.”

Following pressure from Di‐ ana’s family last year, the BBC di‐ rector‐general, Tim Davie, com‐ missioned an independent inquiry to look into how Bashir persuaded the royal to speak on camera about her marriage, and whether he used fake docu‐ ments to gain the family’s trust.

This investigation is now com‐ plete and the report has been passed to the BBC for publication.

medication after being denied entry into the country under Brexit law, according to re‐ ports.

AS, a 20‐year‐old dual na‐ tional of Italy and Brazil, was denied entry to Luton Airport with her Brazilian husband on May 8. She was handcuffed at the airport and left in a van overnight before being trans‐ ported to Colnbrook deten‐ tion centre, where she re‐ mained for seven days before being deported to Italy.

Silvestre’s sister, who has lived in Liverpool for two years, said she received “no information whatsoever if they were OK or where they

were” after their arrival, until her sister called from a phone given to her at the centre the following morning.

Silvestre’s sister alleged that immigration workers at the airport declined to give her the birth control pills she needed to manage her poly‐ cystic ovary syndrome, as well as her husband’s blood pressure medicine.

Others who have been turned away in recent months as the government’s ‘hostile climate’ immigration policy has been extended to EU residents, say they have been refused access to medicine.

Refused Covid Jab

ACCORDING to the press it has been reported that local Spanish authorities are turning people away from medical centres because they do not have the valid European Health Insurance Cards (EHIC) or Global Health Insurance Cards (GHIC) or private health insurance ‐ despite the Spanish Health Minister repeatedly saying the vaccine is available to anyone living in the country.

The report claims that Spain has gone back on their com‐ mitment ‘due to Brexit’.

A British man living in Spain, John McKenzie, who has a heart condition and diabetes, claimed he was refused registra‐ tion at his local health centre in El Sauzal, Tenerife four times since vaccination rollouts began.

Brits who reside in Spain can access the country’s national health care system if an employer or the individual pays into the public insurance scheme, register an S1 form issued in the UK, or have valid EHIC or GHIC documentation.

Those residing in Spain prior to December 31, when the withdrawal agreement came into force, also have access to the country’s health service. Permanent residents who have resided in Spain for five years or more are already entitled.

MINISTER: Spain has already returned people to Morocco.

FOLLOWING the Council of Min‐ isters, Interior Minister Fernando Grande‐Marlaska reported that Spain has already returned 2,700 people to Morocco, out of a total

of over 6,000 who have arrived in Ceuta since Monday May 17.

Marlaska has vowed to take “all necessary measures” to end the migrant crisis, and has stated that

New Speed Limit Memes WITH the new speed limits in urban areas coming into force last week, social networks have been awash with criticising memes. Photos, videos and Tweets have been filling up news‐ feeds on Twitter, making it obvious how the country feels about the new rules, and how creative the Spanish can be!

One humorous Twitter comment read : “I’m going at 30km/h and a lady knocks on my window to tell me that I had forgotten my coat in a bar. Incredible.”

Jokes aside, the new regulations for speed limits aim to re‐ duce accidents on the road. According to a study, the new lim‐ its will contribute to 15 to 30 per cent in the reduction of glob‐ al accidents, particularly involving vulnerable users including pedestrians, mobility scooters and bicycles and driving at a slower speed can also reduce the severity of injuries suffered to those in an accident With the new speed limits that came into effect on May 11, drivers will now face up to €600 fines for non‐compliance. In the case of less serious violations, the driver will not face points being taken off their licence.

none of the estimated 1,500 mi‐ nors who have arrived has been returned.

The government has been put on high alert. In a message posted on Twitter, President Pedro Sánchez, who cancelled a sched‐ uled trip to France on Tuesday May 18 was to make an institu‐ tional declaration and said that Spain “will protect the dignity of Ceuta in the face of any threat.”

Pablo Casado, the PP’s leader, has urged the government to act, say‐ ing, “The government must en‐ sure that our flag continues to fly in Ceuta as it has for 600 years.”

Juan Jess Vivas, the president of Ceuta, declared the situation a “state of emergency” and de‐ scribed the huge influx as an “in‐ vasion.”

Ylva Johansson, the Swedish Socialist European Commissioner for Home Affairs, reminded Mo‐ rocco that the Ceuta border be‐ longs to the EU and urged Moroc‐ co to monitor the flow of migrants from Brussels.

NEWS

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20 - 26 May 2021

EWN 13

Leading Vaccinations The First Rapid Covid Test For Pets SPAIN is now leading the EU in vaccinating the elderly against Covid‐19. The country has vacci‐ nated 100 per cent of its people over 80 years of age with at least one dose and 98.2 per cent with two, compared to 77.2 per cent and 57.4 per cent of the EU. Signatories to the strategy have celebrated the decision to priori‐ tise the elderly and have praised the nurses and health care work‐ ers estimating that they have pre‐ vented at least 3,500 deaths in care homes.

Only Ireland equals Spain with 100 per cent of the over 80s with one dose; with more than 99 per cent are Denmark, Iceland, and

Prioritising the elderly has been successful.

Malta. In the range from 70 to 79 Spain is seventh (93.4 per cent with one dose), and in the 60 to 69 the third (80 per cent).

In the US, which started before the EU, 84.5 per cent of those over 65 have at least one dose and 72.6 per cent the full regime,

Eurovision 2021

THE Eurovision Song Contest 2021 will take place in Rotterdam this year. The Dutch city was due to host the Contest in 2020 before the event was cancelled due to the ongoing Covid‐19 pandemic. The Semi‐Finals took place on Tuesday May 18 and continue tonight, Thursday May 20 with the Grand Final taking place on Saturday May 22.

The venue is Ahoy in Rotterdam, which has hosted several big events, including the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2007.

according to the Centre for Dis‐ ease and Control (CDC); in Spain, the total count shows that 90 per cent of those over 60 have one, 44 per cent complete the pattern.

Experts involved in the national strategy believe that the prioriti‐ sation of older to younger in Spain has been a success, surpassed the moment in which essential pro‐ fessionals under 60 were vacci‐ nated with AstraZeneca because there was insufficient data about its safety in older people.

They (the Ministry) also recog‐ nised that the speed acquired is due to the strength of Spain’s Na‐ tional Health System, and the work of the nursing staff, who, on many occasions and in various territories, worked doubled shifts to accomplish the targets set.

A MULTIDISCIPLINARY team of Spanish researchers from Aragón have developed a rapid test for the serological diagnosis against SARS‐CoV‐2 in domestic pets, which can be used in a simple way, in situ, and without the need to wait for laboratory results.

María Dolores Pérez Cabrejas, professor of Food Technology at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Zaragoza, has been the main re‐ searcher in the project.

The Covid‐19 Santander‐ Unizar Programme of Technolog‐ ical Innovation Projects for the year 2020 together with the Uni‐ versity of Zaragoza, and the Vice‐ Rector’s Office for Technological Transfer and Innovation carried out the research which was fi‐ nanced by Banco Santander.

To carry out this project, the team also had the collabora‐ tion of the Aragonese biotech‐ nology company Zeulab, which made the R&D laboratory equipment available to the project and participated in the preparation and validation of the prototype of the test that

was eventually developed.

The University of Zaragoza has indicated that pets living with people with coronavirus are exposed to the virus and the risk of infection by SARS‐CoV‐2 cannot be ruled out. From an epidemiological point of view,

the role that domestic pets can play in this infection is still un‐ known.

During the research, it was observed that some of the pets living with infected people had developed antibodies against SARS‐CoV‐2.

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FEATURE

Processing an inheritance and probate when the heir is a minor or disabled. Sale of inherited assets. Foreigners in Spain.

IN today’s article, we will see what happens when we have a minor or disabled heir in the in‐ heritance. And, if possible, the sale by said minor or incapable of the inherited assets. Espe‐ cially in relation to real estate assets.

Can a minor or disable inher‐ it in Spain?

The answer is YES. They can do it through their legal repre‐ sentatives. This is deduced from the Spanish civil code, which is applicable to Spanish nationals.

Thus, in the case of Spanish minors, the parents who exer‐ cise parental authority can ac‐ cept the inheritance. Only to re‐ pudiate (or renounce) the inheritance will they need court authorisation. In fact, it is very common for a father or mother to accept on behalf of the child the inheritance left by grand‐ parents, etc.

In the case of the incapacitat‐ ed or disabled, the legal guardians and deputies will need a judicial authorisation, if they do not accept the inheri‐ tance for the benefit of invento‐

ry (that is, with limitation of the heir’s responsibility). Therefore, in the case of incapacitated per‐ sons, they will normally go to court to request court authori‐ sation.

Expatriate Minors and Dis‐ abled in Spain. Can they inher‐ it?

The answer is DEPENDS. Although normally yes. And the reason is that the ability to inherit of foreigners in Spain de‐ pends on the law of their na‐ tionality. Therefore, they will be able to do so, providing that ac‐ cording to their personal law, it is possible.

And this, because according to the article 9 of the Spanish civil code, the personal law cor‐ responding to individuals is de‐ termined by their nationality.

This law will govern the capaci‐ ty ...

Thus, in the case of a British minor or non‐capable, it will de‐

pend on what the English, (Scot‐ tish, etc depending on the cas‐ es) law says.

Can a minor or incapacitated person sell an inherited proper‐ ty in Spain?

Yes. But the Spanish Civil Code requires judicial authorisa‐ tion, after hearing the Public Prosecutor, for the sale. In both cases, in a sale from a minor (normally through their par‐ ents), and in the case of a dis‐ abled person (normally through their deputies or legal guardians).

In this case, as indicated above, in the case of foreign mi‐ nor or incapacitated (expat), the sale will be governed by his or her national law. Therefore, it can be sold, and a judicial au‐ thorisation will be necessary or not, depending on what the law of the minor’s nationality says.

Specialised legal advice for minors and the disabled

Carlos Baos (Lawyer) - White&Baos Tel: +34 966 426 185 info@white-baos.com White & Baos 2021 - All Rights Reserved.

In these cases, when there are minors or incapables part of an inheritance or sale, it is es‐ sential to know the Spanish reg‐ ulations, and the corresponding judicial processes. Also, private international law, and applica‐ ble regulations. And to know, the best way to prove the na‐ tional law in an efficient and economical way, so that the transfers could be registered in Spain.

The certificates of law are im‐ portant, which must inform properly about the applicable, for their use in Spain. Determin‐ ing whether or not judicial au‐ thorisation will be necessary, the powers of the guardians and the legal representatives, etc.

If you want our advice and professional help, or you are part of an inheritance where there is a minor or disabled heir, please contact us.

The information provided in this article is not intended to be legal advice, it merely conveys information related to legal is‐ sues.

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20 - 26 May 2021

€300 Million Reclaimed Land Plan New evidence in McCann case

NEW LAND: To expand the city.

THE Gibraltar development project is being undertaken by Harbour Developments Limited, a consortium made up entirely of locally-based developers. This comes as it was announced on Sunday May 16, it was free of Covid for the first time in 10 months - just one day before travellers from England were allowed to resume foreign travel.

The reclamation, situated in a prime location to the west of Coaling Island, aims to create up to 60,000 sqm of new land area. This new land will provide approximately 100,000 sqm of residential buildings with leisure, community, retail and commercial use for a wide spectrum of local needs.

The land created will provide for the sustainable growth and expansion of the city of Gibraltar on the western side of the Rock, inside port waters, for the next decade, much as the reclamation carried out by the GSLP in the late 1980s.

In consideration for carrying out the entire reclamation at practically no cost as the contractor for the government, the developer will be granted a lease for 50 per cent of the northernmost side of the reclaimed plot.

MADELEINE MCCANN cops’ key new evidence has been revealed to be phone records that could show Christian B’s movements in Portugal.

CHRISTIAN B: The main suspect.

The 44‐year‐old German convicted rapist and paedophile has been identified by police as being the prime suspect responsible for the abduction of Madeleine.

It has only recently emerged that German police have new leads on main suspect Christian B. Reports indicate that this re‐ lates to phone records that could throw fresh light on his move‐ ments around Praia Da Luz at the time Maddie went missing.

“For a long time German officers have said many key pieces of the jigsaw were missing about Christian B‘s movements in the Algarve. This new information may help provide one of those pieces,” a source said.

Mandatory Helmets For Cyclists A NEW legislation will come into effect this summer in Madrid, known as the new Sustainable Mobility Ordinance (WHO), which will incorporate some new features, but the main one will be that minors under 18 years of age who circulate through the city of Madrid by bicycle or scooter, must wear a helmet as mandatory, plus, riders who distribute food and goods on bicycles and VMPs will have to wear an approved helmet.

At the moment, the law only requires those under 15 to wear a helmet, so the new change really only affects young people be‐ tween the ages of 16 and 18.

NEWS

Transgender women allowed to play rugby AFTER the French Rugby Federation board unani‐ mously voted to go against World Rugby guidelines, transgender women will be eligible to play rugby in France’s domestic competi‐ tions from next season.

In October, the sport’s global governing body an‐ nounced that it “does not recommend” transgender women play contact rugby.

Any transgender women must be risk‐assessed be‐ fore being allowed to play domestic rugby, according to draft plans released by England’s Rugby Football Union in March.

The French Rugby Feder‐ ation (FFR) stated that transgender women could play if they could prove that they had been on hor‐ mone therapy for at least 12 months and that their testosterone levels were less than five nanomoles per litre.

NEWS

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20 - 26 May 2021

EWN 17

British Airways’ Boss Out of stock problem BRITISH AIRWAYS’ boss Sean Doyle has called on the gov‐ ernment to reunite Brits with their families by allowing low‐ risk countries to be added to the green list. In a matter that has worried many British ex‐ pats in Spain during the ongo‐ ing coronavirus pandemic, im‐ portant milestones are being missed out on as family are unable to travel and visit each other.

Missing out on family.

Cabbie Found Dead

TRAGICALLY a cabbie has been found dead at Heathrow airport as desperate drivers are being forced to live in their taxis in a bid to get fares.

The 56‐year‐old cabbie was discovered dead as he waited at Heathrow airport. Cabbies have been forced to wait extensive pe‐ riods in order to pick up even a single fare each day as the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic has severely affected travel.

It is believed that the man, who was discovered in his sleeping bag in the back of his taxi had been dead for a staggering three days before his body was finally discovered. The shocking discov‐ ery was made and both police officers and an ambulance crew at‐ tended the scene. Sadly though he was pronounced dead at the scene.

A spokesperson for Heathrow airport commented on the sad incident and said, “We are aware of and saddened by this inci‐ dent. Our teams are on hand to support with any police en‐ quiries.”

Sean Doyle has highlighted the fact that vaccination and infection rates in various coun‐ tries including Spain, Greece and the US can be said to make a “compelling case” for adding them to the UK’s travel green list.

The BA chief executive ex‐ posed that the company has been receiving many letters from customers who are des‐ perate to travel and who have shared their “tragic human cir‐ cumstances” of not being al‐ lowed to fly to other coun‐ tries. This is something that many expats are experiencing in Spain during the pandemic as milestones such as funerals and the birth of grandchildren have sadly been missed.

One EWN reader spoke of how they have only been able to see their grandchild once since they were born, as re‐ peatedly family trips to Spain had unfortunately had to be cancelled. The reader ex‐ plained that, “I’m desperate to see my grandchild who lives in the UK. She changes every day and I’m missing out on this.”

T H E U K is said to be running out of building supplies. Will beer be next?

B uilding firms and D I Y enthusiasts across the U K are facing a shortage of supplies that have sent prices sky-rocketing and made delays inevitable. To add insult to injury, British pubs could be on the verge of a beer shortage as demand is expected to exceed supply as lockdown restrictions are eased.

Projects large and small across the U K have been derailed by C ovid, B rexit and the Evergreen tanker getting stuck in the S uez Canal in March.

Builders are driving hundreds of miles around the country in an attempt to pick up just a small portion of the stock they need to stay in business or deliver their work on time.

H omeowners are also seeing their budgets go out the window as the cost of timber and steel joists has increased by 80 per cent.

Even paint costs a third more than it did in 2020.

MDF which used to take only one week to arrive after an order was made, now takes six weeks. Roof ties, previously available within the month, now in-

volve a wait time of six months.

Meanwhile, British pubs were dreading a shortage of beer when indoor drinking returns this week and thousands of revellers return to their locals.

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Mule Causes Six Car Pile Up IN a shocking accident an escaped mule caused a six car pile up on a Spanish motorway early in the morning.

The loose mule had escaped from a farm and had managed to make its way onto a dual carriageway in Sevilla. Unfortunately, the animal running loose on the road managed to cause a collision which involved six vehicles and resulted in one person being injured.

The animal was usually used for agricultural purposes but had managed to escape from its farm before it somehow made its way onto the Utrera-Sevilla motorway.

The accident took place on Saturday May 15.

ESCAPED MULE: Caused a collision on the motorway.

Tragically the animal died as it was hit by a yellow Citroen C2, which ran into the animal on the road. The collision with the car is said have caused the animal’s ‘death on the spot’.

After hitting the animal, the car overturned and ended up

with its wheels in the air. This then caused a multiple vehicle pileup which involved various cars, two vans and one lorry.

The motorway had to be closed for some time while medical services and Guardia Civil attended the scene.

VAT Rate Demo

HUNDREDS of people have joined in protests against the VAT rate for hairdressers, barbers and beauty salons in Andalucia on Monday May 17. Currently the VAT rate is set at 21 per cent but protesters believe that the government should change to a re‐ duced VAT rate of 10 per cent for beauty salons, barbers and hairdressers.

According to the organisers, protests were carried out in many provincial capitals across Andalucia and in Algeciras too. The demonstrations were organised by the ‘Creer en Nosotros’, or Be‐ lieve in Us platform.

The organisation plans to continue fighting until they get the lower VAT rate, but the date of the next demonstration has not been set yet according to Berrios.

The rally took place in various locations in Cordoba and the square which is situated in front of the Granada Town Hall.

The Creer en Nosotros platform believes that “tens of thou‐ sands of hairdressing and beauty salons in the coming months’ could risk closure without VAT reforms going ahead.

NEWS

Detectives find bones DETECTIVES searching for a teenage girl feared mur‐ dered by Fred West have found what they believe to be bones.

Using high‐tech equip‐ ment, they also discovered dark blue material matching a coat 15‐year‐old Mary Bastholm was wearing when she vanished 53 years ago.

The major breakthrough comes days after a 39‐strong police team led by three ar‐ chaeologists began excavat‐ ing the basement of a café in Gloucester, half a mile from the West family home at 25 Cromwell Street.

They are specifically analysing an area to the side of the basement which builder West converted into toilets. The material and sus‐ pected bones are trapped under a partition wall.

A source said: “Camera images clearly show material which matches the navy blue coat Mary was wearing when she was abducted. In addition, there are images of what look very much like hu‐ man bones. Great care is be‐ ing taken to sift through the surface to preserve any po‐ tential evidence.”

Fred West was a regular at the café, where Mary worked as a waitress before she went missing in 1968, and he often did building work in the area.

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Mini-Heatwaves

IT was forecast that tempera‐ tures in the Andalucian capital Sevilla were to stay above 35 degrees all week. Are mini‐ heatwaves a taste of things to come?

According to the forecast, day time temperatures were to reach as high as 38 degrees Cel‐ sius with nights being as warm as 18‐20 degrees.

Last week, when tempera‐ tures began to rocket, residents and weekend visitors ‐ many es‐ caping from Madrid for the first time since the State of Alarm lifted ‐ could be seen looking for shade around the city’s famous tourist spots including the Cathedral and the Real Alcazar.

Coastal areas like Cadiz and Huelva were to see tempera‐ tures as high as 30 degrees Cel‐ sius, few clouds and low winds making it an ideal time for the first swim of the year for many domestic tourists and residents.

Temperatures are rising across Europe and last year was the hottest ever year for the continent. Even more worrying‐ ly, the average temperature in Spain could rise by as much as five degrees by the end of the century, climate experts warn.

NEWS

Royal Aides’ request ‘Misleading’ Privacy Policies REPORTEDLY aides at the Palace have said that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex should give up their Royal titles after a shocking podcast where Prince Harry said that growing up in the Royal fami‐ ly was like “a mixture between The Truman Show and being in a zoo.”

Harry hopes to “break the cycle” when it comes to his own chil‐ dren though after he hit out at his father Prince Charles on the Armchair Expert Podcast.

Speaking to host Dax Shepard the Royal spoke of his pain and suffering and explained that, “When it comes to parenting, if I’ve experienced some form of pain or suffering because of the pain or suffering that perhaps my father or my parents had suffered, I’m going to make sure I break that cycle so that I don’t pass it on.”

WHATSAPP users will have noticed a recent intensifica‐ tion of pop‐ups in your mo‐ bile, nudging you to agree to the app’s new terms of ser‐ vice, involving the rollout of their new privacy policy that was delayed, and was due to come into play on Saturday May 15.

Critics warn that this will lead to more data sharing with its parent company Facebook, which received a blow on

International Space Station Mix Up AN International Space Station astronaut has upset some people in Spain after getting his traditional Spanish dishes mixed up.

The astronaut unfortunately upset many Spaniards after commenting on social media. While carrying out space missions many astronauts on the International Space Station keep their social media followers up to date with stunning images of the Earth.

Shane Kimbrough took to Twitter to share a photo taken from the International Space Station as it flew over the Spanish city of Salamanca.

The NASA commander posted on social media and said “Hello Spain! We flew over Salamanca recently and the Tormes River was in plain sight.

“I wish we had some space paella to enjoy here!”

The post caused outrage among some Spaniards though as paella is not from Salamanca. Twitter users quickly responded to hit back at for him having mislabelled the dish typical of Valencian gastronomy. In Salamanca the typical rice dish is chanfaina.

Other Twitter followers insisted that he had good intentions and defended him.

JOHANNES CASPAR: Claims policies are misleading.

Thursday May 13 after Ger‐ man regulators temporarily banned the update.

Unfortunately for What‐ sApp, they have come up against Johannes Caspar, who is the Hamburg Data Protec‐ tion Commissioner, an expert lawyer in privacy and constitu‐ tional law and considered to be one of the 20 most influen‐ tial men in the European Union.

Germany has prohibited Facebook from processing the data of WhatsApp users, a measure ‘with immediate ef‐ fect’ in the German territory, and it is something that will be raised to the European Da‐

ta Protection Committee, to extend this ban to all of the European Union member states.

Johannes Caspar’s press re‐ lease claims that WhatsApp’s new privacy policies and con‐ ditions are “misleading and show considerable contradic‐ tions” and he points out that “even after a detailed analysis, it is not clear what the conse‐ quences for users will be,” and that “consent is neither free nor informed,” which basically means that “WhatsApp obliges you to accept the new terms as a condition to contin‐ ue using the functionality of the service.”

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Record loss for budget airline Is This The End

RYANAIR has posted an annu‐ al record loss of €815m as the crisis bites into its profits.

However, group CEO Michael O’Leary said the airline’s 1.5m new weekly bookings meant “recovery has already begun.”

Europe’s largest discount airline flew 27.5m passengers in its fi‐ nancial year to March 31, 2021, down from 149m the previous year in what it called the most challenging in its history.

RYANAIR: Report that recovery has already begun.

Ryanair said it was impossi‐ ble to give a formal profit out‐ look for the year, but added

that it “cautiously believed that the likely outcome for FY22 is currently close to breakeven” if

Staggering 400,000 Visits IN what has turned out to be a stunning event this year for the centenary edition, the Fiesta de los Patios de Córdoba ended on Sunday May 16 after a staggering 400,000 plus visits. Hotels in the area also benefited massively from the event as occupancy rates hit 90 per cent on Sat‐ urday, and on Friday they were at 70 per cent according to the deputy mayor for City Promo‐ tion, Marián Aguilar, and the deputy mayor for Digital Transformation, Lourdes Morales.

The event was so successful that the council‐ lor for Promotion has stated that “if the pan‐ demic” allows then an extra edition of the Fiesta de los Patios could go ahead in October in order to “add to the economic reactivation” of the

area. The councillor hopes at this point interna‐ tional visitors will be able to benefit from the event too.

Aguilar highlighted that,”this edition has been the return to joy, making Cordoba feel vibrant again, seeing the streets full and an oxygen bal‐ loon for the city,” in addition to, “a shower of en‐ couragement for the economic revival of the city.”

The event used technology in order to help “reinforce security” against the ongoing coron‐ avirus pandemic as sensors and drones were used in Santa Marina and Alcázar Viejo. It is hoped that in future editions of the event this technology can be used in other areas too.

the EU vaccine rollout remains on track.

Ryanair expects traffic to re‐ cover as governments begin to lift international travel restric‐ tions, with forecasts for around 80 million to 120 million pas‐ sengers during the current fi‐ nancial year. It expects to fly just five million to six million passengers between April and June.

“We expect intra‐European air travel capacity to be materi‐ ally lower for the foreseeable future,” the airline said. Howev‐ er, Ryanair said it was “encour‐ aged by the recent release of multiple Covid‐19 vaccines and hopes that their rollout will fa‐ cilitate the resumption of intra‐ Europe air travel and tourism this summer.”

O’Leary said he expects ca‐ pacity on intra‐European routes to be materially lower for the foreseeable future, creating op‐ portunities to target market share with lower prices, espe‐ cially next summer, when Ryanair is due to have received as many as 65 Max planes out of an order for 210.

Of Face Masks?

FERNANDO SIMÓN, the director of the Centre for Health Alerts and Emergencies (CCAES), on Monday May 17, hinted that the mandatory wearing of masks in outdoor spaces could soon be lifted, saying that it is a decision that could be made in a matter of “not many days.”

Mr Simón indicated, without giving specific dates, that the government and communities, in the next few weeks, will be in a position to review the catalogue of measures that the autonomies can apply, depending on their epidemiological situation, which can include instructions regarding the use of masks, saying, “the evolution of vaccination and the epidemic tells us that it may not take long to make clear proposals to remove the mask in some specific situations.”

The minister pointed out

that this could occur when the AI of the communities falls below 150 cases, and today, the general AI stands at 151 cases per 100,000 inhabitants at 14 days, but there are still eight communities that are above that bar: the Basque Country, Madrid, Navarra, La Rioja, Catalonia, Aragon, Andalucia, and Melilla.

He also hinted that the mask relaxation could occur in spaces where there is already a high vaccination coverage, as with nursing homes, but not in any places frequented by people who have not yet been vaccinated, stressing, "We have to be aware that we are going to be there soon, but we have to go step by step, we can think about taking off the mask outdoors but not indoors or in highly vaccinated groups but not in all social groups".

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20 - 26 May 2021 SPAIN is still ranked top in the world for the most blue beach flags with 713 across the country on beaches, ports and tourist boats. There are 615 on beaches, 96 for ports and two for tourist boats. Spain has held this title since 1994.

Spain regained nearly all of

Top In World its blue flags in 2020 that it had lost in 2019, with 589 flying the distinction and leading the world rankings ahead of

Explosive New Corrie Storyline

THE Rovers Return, the legendary boozer on the famous cobbles of Weatherfield since back in 1960, at the heart of Coronation Street, is to be at the centre of an explosive new storyline from the writers of ITV’s long‐running soap, where it will be put up for sale by Johnny Connor when he comes out of prison.

The Sun has gained access to photos from the set of Corrie, that show an estate agent’s board fixed on the wall of the iconic pub, after Connor, locked up for a historic armed robbery in the soap, gets early release from prison and comes home to find out that his screen wife Jenny has slept with B&B guest Ronnie Bailey while he was inside.

Realising that his marriage is over, the landlord, in a fit of temper, contacts a local estate agent and puts the pub on the market, but as yet, the identi‐ ty of the new owner has not been revealed, in a storyline that is bound to shock fans of the soap.

Italy, Greece, France, Turkey and Portugal.

With 615 flag on beaches, this is 25 more than held last year. There are also up to nine inland beaches on the list this year, for example, Playa Dulce de Orellana in Orellana la Vieja and La Dehesa in Cheles, both in Badajoz, and Virgen de la Nueva in San Martín de Valdeiglesias (Madrid); Those of As Pontes (A Coruña) and Ardales (Malaga) have been added.

Malaga Province has been awarded 34 of the blue flags for beaches along the coastline this summer, with a further five obtained by local marinas including Benalmadena, Caleta de Velez (VelezMálaga), Estepona, La Duquesa (Manilva) and Marbella.

The remaining two flags are assigned to sustainable boating in Benalmadena, as reported by the Association for Environmental and Consumer Education (ADEAC), exceeding the 30 blue flags achieved in 2020.

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Hundreds of Protesters TWO men detained by British immigration officials in Glas‐ gow were eventually released after a seven‐hour peaceful standoff between hundreds of protesters and Scottish po‐ lice.

Scottish First Minister Nico‐ la Sturgeon slammed the “un‐ acceptable” action by Britain’s Home Office to de‐ tain the Indian men, especial‐ ly as it came during celebra‐ tions for the Muslim holiday of Eid al‐Fitr, in an area hit by the pandemic.

The UK Home Office said in a statement that the men were detained “in relation to suspected immigration of‐ fences” and had been re‐ leased on bail pending further enquiries.

Police were first called to Kenmure Street in Glasgow, Scotland’s largest city, at about 10am where the Immi‐ gration Enforcement van with the men in it was surrounded by protesters, including neighbours of the men.

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ACCORDING to reports the UK ‘allowed 20,000 people to fly in from India’ despite mu‐ tant Covid variant warnings.

The mutant variant from In‐ dia is now believed to be dominant in multiple areas of England and so far four Brits have died after becoming in‐ fected. It is now feared that the end of lockdown restric‐ tions on June 21 could be de‐

20 - 26 May 2021

20,000 People from India

layed due to the new strain.

Criticism has been raised at Prime Minister Boris Johnson, stating that he should have banned travel from India ear‐ lier than he did. According to the Sunday Times over 20,000 people could have flown into the UK from India before it

was added to the UK Red list on April 23.

It has been revealed that over 100 people carried the Indian Covid variant into the UK between late March and late April.

It has been alleged that Johnson may have put politi‐

Danone To Scrap Expiration Dates DANONE has announced that it will scrap the expiration date stamp on around 78 per cent of their products sold in Spain and replace it with a ‘preferred consumption date’, in an aim to stop consumers throwing away food just because it is out of date.

Cédric Pantaleón, the vice president of dairy sales, and Paolo Tafuri, the general direc‐ tor of Danone Spain, Paolo Tafuri, revealed this change at a press conference on Thurs‐ day May 13, explaining that the new labelling will have icons as a guide to verify that the product is still suitable for consumption outside the best before date.

Mr Tafuri said, “This change in labelling can help consumers to make better use of food and better management in the pur‐ chase and consumption at home.”

Helena Calvo, who is the head of awareness projects at ‘Too Good To Go’, an app that helps consumers to recover non‐marketable food in good condition, insisted that “people

USE BY: We can tell if a food is still good to eat.

should learn to act against food that has passed the preferred consumption date.

Look, smell, and taste, with our senses, we can know if a food is good, and it is important that we do not throw away those products in good condition, because a lot of resources are spent in getting food to our refrigerators.”

One Hundred Thousand Visitors MADRID was set to welcome 100,000 visitors and was expecting to see around 50,000 industry professionals from May 19 at the FI‐ TUR tourism fair. The fair is one of the biggest in the world and or‐ ganisers are hoping to see visitors from some 60 countries arrive during the event.

In a bid to boost tourism the decision has been made to hold a physical tourism fair. This the first of its kind to be held by the tourism sector in Spain since the ongoing coronavirus pandemic began to cause chaos throughout the country and across the rest of the world.

José Vicente de los Mozos, head of IFEMA spoke of how the world is watching and explained that, “The world is watching be‐ cause despite everything, we have decided to physically hold the first major tourism fair.”

The tourism sector is vital for Spain’s economy and the head of IFEMA explained how they hope to “kickstart the recovery of tourism” as reported in the media.

Capacity at the event they will be severely reduced as a safety precaution though.

cal reasons ahead of safety and delayed adding India to the red list for political mo‐ tives. The source who made these allegations told the Sun‐ day Times that, ‘It’s very clear that we should have closed the border to India earlier and that Boris did not do so be‐ cause he didn’t want to of‐ fend Modi (Indian Prime Min‐ ister).’

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VIRUS: New warnings.

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Bungee Jump Goes Wrong A BUNGEE jump went wrong in Sevilla, after a man suffered a fall during the extreme sport.

Emergency services were successfully able to rescue the 34-year-old man after a bungee jump went wrong Man landed on a cliff. and he was left on a cliff.

Emergency services rescued the man before he was taken by helicopter to Sevilla’s Virgen Macarena University Hospital after being injured in the fall.

The 112 Emergency Services were alerted to the accident by the Public Health Emergency Company (EPES 061) and due to the fact that the man was in a difficult to access position on a cliff, firefighters were asked to help in the rescue.

He was rushed to hospital by an EPES helicopter which was waiting to transfer him to Sevilla’s Virgen Macarena University Hospital to receive treatment for the injuries he sustained in the accident.

NEWS

Was Spain The Biggest Star In The Crown?

NETFLIX’S The Crown is up for a prestigious Spanish award for filming much of seasons three and four in Andalucia.

The blockbuster series is in the running for best international production shot in Spain at the glitzy Spanish Film Commission Fitur Screen awards on May 21 after the Andalucian Film Commission nominated it.

The Crown, which costs $13 million to produce per episode, kicked off in 2016 with Claire Foy starring as a young Princess Elizabeth. Seasons three and four fast forward in time to Prince Charles’ early years and ill-fated marriage to Diana Spencer.

In 2019 it moved filming to Spain taking advantage of Andalucia’s varied landscapes to stand in for Australia, Greece, and even parts of America.

The area around Tabernas in Almeria was the setting for Charles and Diana’s getaway weekend in rural Australia during a gruelling tour of the country. El Toyo, also in Almeria, was used to stage shots of Brisbane airport. The Palacio

Filming took place in Spain.

Cycling Mandatory Training JOSEP MATEU, the president of the RACC, in his presentation of the third RACC Urban Cyclist Barometer in Barcelona, raised the issue of whether people might soon need to take some sort of test before they are allowed to ride a bicycle in the streets.

It is a known fact that since the beginning of the pandemic, the use of bicycles soared - in some cities such as Madrid and Barcelona above 100 per cent during the de-escalation months - to the point many bike suppliers ran out of stock.

Mr Mateu said he thought that there was definitely the need to promote training and knowledge of urban traffic regulations among cyclists and scooter users, and has proposed the creation of a ‘titulin’ or compulsory card which certifies the rider has at least basic knowledge and skills.

He said the results of a survey, showed 38 per cent of cyclists admitted to having no knowledge of the traffic regulations, 36 per cent used some type of headphones while cycling, and 24 per cent admitted using their mobile phones.

de Congresos in Torremolinos made a convincing Los Angeles Airport.

Sotogrande and several towns in Cadiz were also used as locations for Princess Margaret’s tour of America in 1965.

In Jerez, the Finca La Penuela was used as a set for homes in America and the Convent of Santo Domingo set the stage for Prince Philip’s mother’s time in Greece.

Health Ministry Report SPAIN’S Ministry of Health has just published its seventh update on the vaccination strategy that was approved on Tuesday, May 11, by the Public Health Commission.

The Ministry says it believes that the AstraZeneca and Janssen vaccines can be ad‐ ministered to people with a history or risk factors of thrombosis‐blood clots, but advises against them for those with a history of thrombocy‐ topenia (low platelets) in‐ duced by the anticoagulant heparin.

They believe that these pa‐ tients have already developed antibodies against the PF4‐ heparin complex and “there could be a greater risk of gen‐ erating antibodies against the complex PF4‐component of the vaccine involved,” given the similarity of their patho‐ genesis.

This fresh update and advice includes pregnant women and minors between the ages of 12 and 15 in vulnerable and high‐ risk situations. In the update of the vaccination strategy, it was also recalled that the teaching staff of pre‐school, primary, and secondary education have already been prioritised to be vaccinated, not only with re‐ spect to the rest of the popula‐ tion but also, of other teaching staff such as high school and high school university, to pro‐ tect them while teaching in the classroom surrounded by chil‐ dren and adolescents.

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Royal British Legion Centenary

RETIRED Lieutenant General James Bashall, the national president of the Royal British Legion led a ceremony on Saturday May 15, where he laid a wreath at the Cenotaph in Whitehall, London, to mark the centenary of the charity organisation.

This ceremony took place at 9am, the exact same hour that the charity organisation was formed 100 years ago, with similar wreathlaying ceremonies taking place all over the UK. Earlier in the day, the Prince of Wales had hailed the charity, saying, “There are few organisations which hold a place at the heart of society in the way the Royal British Legion does. For 100 years, the Royal British Legion has been a constant, through the annual Poppy Appeal, leading the nation in remembrance, and providing a life-long commitment to every veteran and their families.”

Caixabank Staff Protest Cuts

CAIXABANK, Spain’s biggest domestic lender since its recent takeover of rival Bankia, has seen hundreds of employees gather in protest outside the bank’s shareholder meeting. The meeting was held in Valencia on Friday and protesters complained as thousands of jobs are set to be cut.

The Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) union took to social media in order to share a video of protesters including some who were seen to wear the faces of Caixabank executives on their masks. The protest took place outside of Valencia’s Palacio de Congresos where the shareholder meeting was being held.

While ordinary folk feared losing their jobs, shareholders at the annual meeting decided that the new Caixabank Chairman Jose Ignacio Goirigolzarri, was worthy of a staggering fixed salary of €1.65 million.

Shareholders voted for this, and even voted for a bonus of up to €200,000 too.

20 - 26 May 2021

Wes Anderson’s Next Film

FILM director Wes Anderson will shoot his next film in Madrid this July, August and September, The Film Stage has reported. With his film T he F rench D ispatch now confirmed to world premiere at Cannes Film Festival, the director is now planning his next project.

It was reported last autumn that he would be in R ome to shoot a new romantic film, however, it has been reported that sets are already being built for a new film in Spain.

The set is said to resemble desert landscapes seen in westerns, however, reports say that the film will not be of that genre.

There has been no indication of the plot or cast of the film set to be shot in M adrid, specifically Chinchón in the southeast, yet sources expect the fa-

Not Paid since March SADLY, cleaning workers at Barajas airport have not been paid since March, a situation which is said to be affecting some 90 families.

The workers belong to the company Rentevic who are charged with cleaning aeroplane interiors. Workers at the MadridBarajas Adolfo Suarez airport have now worryingly not been paid since March.

Price reduction policies have regrettably been seen in the area of public tenders for

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cleaning services for some time now, and the Federation of Services, Mobility and Consumption of UGT (FeSMC UGT) Madrid has been warning against the negative effects that this could have.

The union has called for Aena to step up and ‘immediately’ end the contract with Rentevic. They also expect Aena to find a solvent company able to provide the services required.

miliar style of Anderson’s past films.

Chinchón’s mayor Francisco Javier Martínez said,

“This is very important to this city,” and highlighted that the town’s cinema will be open for him to shoot at

if he wishes. I t looks as though film fans will have back-to-back A nderson films in 2021 and 2022.

Laying Off employees TELECOMS firm, Orange, is going to lay off up to 485 of their employees in Spain over the next few weeks, Reuters has reported.

The company made the announcement on Friday, May 14, citing years of decreasing income due to Spain’s hypercompetitive and increasingly cheap telecommunications sector.

Much like other European rivals, the telecoms firm has been facing increasing concerns aside from the health crises’ impact

on the sector, investing extensively on infrastructures including fibre-optic cabling, finding it difficult to fund its 5G network upgrade.

Reducing their workforce will be extremely important for Orange to ensure that the firm can keep up with competitiveness in the face of structural changes, the statement also said, noting that negotiations with labour unions would be starting within the next few days.

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Asked to Provide Your Pin?

IF you have ever been online shopping and you have been asked to provide your pin this may send shivers up your spine as we have always been taught, never give your pin number or password to any‐ one.

The world of online shopping is changing though and online shopping protocols have been updated in a bid to make them more secure. This could even include being asked for digits of your PIN number.

In recent years the use of

Online shopping changing. cash has diminished especially during the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic as many shops have pushed consumers to use their

Date Is Fixed For The End THE Plenary of the Congress of Deputies approved on Thursday May 13, the first Law on Climate Change and Energy Transition in Spain, which is designed to combat global warming and the greenhouse effect, and has as one of its main targets, the motor industry.

A definite date was fixed during the session for the end of the sale of combustion engines in Spain, by the year 2040, meaning that no more petrol or diesel-powered vehicles will be sold after that date, including hybrids, with Article 14 of the law stating that every vehicle must be powered exclusively by energy that emits zero grams of carbon dioxide.

card rather than hand over cash in a bid to lower infection rates. According to the ‘Report on trends and innovation in means of payment’ which has been put together by the Pay‐ ment Innovation Hub, the use of debit and credit cards now totals 47 per cent of transac‐ tions made.

In Spain alone in 2019 there were over 85 million cards in use and this number will un‐ doubtedly grow. Increased se‐ curity measures often termed ‘enhanced customer authorisa‐ tion’ can slow down the shop‐ ping process online, but are there to make things more se‐ cure for you and protect your money. When making a pur‐ chase online you could now be asked to provide two different pieces of information at a mini‐ mum.

It is always worth remember‐ ing though that you should nev‐ er be asked for your full pin number, only for a couple of the digits. If you are asked for your full pin number, ensure that you never provide it.

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20 - 26 May 2021

All Summer Holidays pulled

ONE of Britain’s largest online holiday sales portals ‘On The Beach’ has announced that it is halting all sales of summer holidays until at least September, due to the continued uncertainty surrounding travel, with Portugal, one of the UK’s ‘green list’ countries announcing on Thursday May 13 that they are extending their ‘state of calamity’ until May 30.

Simon Cooper, the firm’s chief executive, said “There’s nothing we want more than to be able to send customers on holiday, but with the current number of unknowns, we don’t think that now is the right time for customers to book new holidays departing in the next few months.”

Mr Cooper added he believes that even if ‘On The Beach’ went ahead and sold holidays, which then had to be cancelled, its profits risked being outweighed by “administrative costs and loss of goodwill,” telling the press that many would-be holiday-

makers have been “jaded” by the bad experience of their 2020 holidays when many had booked only to have them cancelled due to the shifting travel restrictions.

He stressed their online

travel agent would not be offering foreign holidays to ‘green list’ countries because “it is very likely that we will see regular fluctuations in destinations’ traffic light classifications.”

Fake Driving Licences A NETWORK that sold nearly 2,000 fake driving licences was identified on Tuesday May 11. This is the largest operation to be carried out against an organised network in Catalonia. The Mossos d’Esquadra and the National Police are collaborating to bring down the organisation that allegedly sold fake driving licences. There is expected to be around 9,000 arrests made throughout the region and the rest of Spain.

The Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia has claimed that the organisation issued fake cards to people who have never previously had one or had lost one, and charged them between €4,000 (£3,435) and €10,000 (£8,589) per licence.

The case was initially opened in 2020 due to a police complaint and there have now been 1,845 drivers identified across Spain who have a licence obtained through the criminal organisation. This means that some of these people have never had any official accreditation, examination or processing.

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Three Ways To Avoid Paying Toll THERE are three ways to avoid paying tolls on Spanish roads and if you are in one of these

three groups, you will be able to drive through ‘scot‐free’ ac‐ cording to the DGT.

FluBot Police Warning Issued POLICE in Spain have issued a FluBot virus alert. The virus arrives by SMS and can take over control of your mobile phone, and steal information including your banking details.

The FluBot is a dangerous Trojan virus and to date a minimum of 60,000 Android devices have been attacked across the world. In Spain this has forced both National Police and the Mossos d’Esquadra to take to social media platforms in order to warn people about the malicious SMS message.

FluBot has been seen in various countries around the world but has mainly cropped up in Spain, Germany, Italy, Hungary, the UK and in Poland. This does not mean that it will not be spreading to other countries around the globe though.

The virus arrives on your phone by an SMS message alleging to be from a delivery company including Correos along with FedEx and DHL. In the message it is claimed that a package has been received and that the user needs to click on a link. At this point a fake tracking app is installed on the mobile device which sets out to steal personal data and credentials from the victim.

The malware app steals both credentials and user’s contact details and then sends them to a remote server. The Trojan does not stop here though as it steals your contacts so it can then send infected SMS messages to all your friends and family.

So far it is believed that around 11 million phone numbers have been collected in this manner.

The Spanish Government proposed in the Recovery, Transformation and Re‐ silience Plan sent to Brus‐ sels, a controversial measure with which it intends to im‐ plement tolls on motorways and motorways from 2024, with the idea of dealing with the maintenance and up‐ keep of the Road Network of the State, which already has an accumulated deficit of some €8,000 million.

However, those who are within one of these three groups will be free to use the pay road tolls, according to the DGT. Navarro said “for exam‐ ple, the daily commute due to work, the guy who has to take the highway every day to go to and from work, he is exempt from payment ‐ the trips required for study rea‐ sons as well ‐ also as an ex‐ ample, the grandmother, when she goes to the doctor, is also excluded. That is to say, that there is a certain margin of manoeuvre.”

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Cathedral Restoration Finally Completed THE Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, a famous centre of pilgrimage for many, has finally had the last piece of scaffolding, and the final crane removed, which have been covering its beautiful baroque façade for the last eight years.

Starting the difficult and arduous task back in 2013, the building which had become dilapidated due to the weather was gradually brought back to life, and now the renovated cathedral looks like new, with its gleaming stonework and stunning design once again visible to

the multitudes of people who flock to this shrine of worship each year.

Restoration is due to start on another part of the building soon, that of the museum section, but that will not affect the main body of the building, with this being the Xacobeo Year, and pilgrims will be venturing on the famed Camino de Santiago, to reach the Plaza del Obraidoiro and admire their destination in its full splendour, after spending eight years visiting only to find it hidden by scaffolding.

Cryptocurrency Market Plunges

ELON MUSK has made a sudden decision to stop accepting bitcoin as payment for his Tesla brand of cars, triggering a sharp plunge in the cryptocurrency markets around the globe as a result.

As a result of Musk’s decision,

markets fell by around 12 per cent, to less than $50,000, on Wednesday May 12, but did recover slightly on Thursday May 13, according to Coindesk.

Musk’s decision has caused confusion, bearing in mind he had

Holiday Refunds

UK travel firms have been warned that they need to inform travellers of their rights with regards to refunds. The holiday industry has been warned by the UK’s competition regulator forcing TUI, Europe’s biggest travel company, to be more transparent with their customers on getting a refund.

On May 13, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it had contacted 100 package tour companies to remind them of their obligation to offer refunds for cancelled holidays and return the cash within two weeks.

The warning from the CMA follows an announcement from the UK about easing restrictions on holidays, with travellers from England permitted to travel to a dozen ‘green list’ destinations from Monday, May 17. The ‘green list’ includes Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Brunei, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, the Falkland Islands, Israel and Portugal, including the Azores and Madeira, and two British overseas territories in the Atlantic.

The repeated failure of travel firms informing customers of their right to cash refunds if a booking is forced to be cancelled has caused concern for the regulator. The CMA has received over 23,000 complaints about issues with refunds since March 2020.

directed Tesla to buy $1.5 billion (£1.06 billion) in Bitcoin for its corporate treasury earlier this year.

The Tesla CEO, who has been a vocal bitcoin advocate until now, based his sudden change of direction on the “high environmental cost” to the environment of the manufacturing of bitcoins, as he tweeted, “We are concerned about rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for bitcoin mining and transactions, especially coal, which has the worst emissions of any fuel.” Michaël van de Poppe, a crypto analyst and trader based in Amsterdam, said, “When bitcoin tops out and the bubble bursts, all those glory hunters will move away to another market,” referring to the speculators who jumped on the frenzy of bitcoin’s success.

Shares in Tesla also dropped by 4 per cent after Musk’s news broke, and it is also causing a lot of discussion on social media due to the fact that Musk says burning coal is bad for the environment whilst his company mines lithium and cobalt for use in his electric cars.

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NOW UNCOVERED: The beautiful baroque façade.

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You Deserve Spain

FORTY‐FIVE million tourists are expected this summer as Spain launches the Turespaña ‘You de‐ serve Spain’ campaign. The Min‐ ister of Industry, Tourism and

Trade, Reyes Maroto, has high‐ lighted the fact that the Spanish government expects Spain to re‐ ceive a staggering 45 million tourists this summer offering

Avoiding Blood Clots RECENTLY concern around blood clots and thrombosis has increased dramatically, but here are some foods to help you avoid the problem and help ease your mind. It is possible to help combat thrombosis by having some healthy lifestyle habits and certain foods can help you avoid a blood clot.

According to experts at the Spanish heart foundation, thrombosis happens when a blood vessel is obstructed by a clot, they explained that, “it is made up of elements of the blood such as platelets, red blood cells and a connecting tissue called fibrin.”

The foundation also highlighted the fact that a healthy lifestyle can be used to help prevent the worrying, but rare condition. They highlighted that, “daily aerobic exercise, a healthy Mediterranean diet low in animal fats, salt and, above all, sugar” can help prevent thrombosis.

The Mediterranean diet is already known to have considerable health benefits as it includes food such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes and olive oil that can have a positive effect on cardiovascular health. These foods also affect blood cholesterol levels in a healthy manner.

Other foods that help are garlic, beetroot, onions, soya and pistachios.

confidence, security and quality.

The ongoing Coronavirus pan‐ demic has seriously affected tourism recently, but this summer things are looking up according to Maroto, who has confidence in the vaccination plan. The Minister believes that conditions are now in place for Spain to begin wel‐ coming tourists in a safe manner.

The advertising campaign will be focused on positioning Spain as the main holiday destination for foreign markets such as the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Sweden, Belgium, Poland and the Nether‐ lands. The campaign though has come at a cost of around €8 mil‐ lion, but proves Spain’s commit‐ ment to bringing in tourists once again.

In June the green digital certifi‐ cate is set to be launched which will aid travel within the European Union. It is believed that this, along with the vaccination pro‐ gramme progress in Spain “will make it possible to convey certain‐ ty to international travellers and present Spain as a safe destina‐ tion” commented Maroto.

To read more stories like this go to ww.euroweeklynews.com

32 EWN

20 - 26 May 2021

www.euroweeklynews.com

NEWS

New Cascading Radars ADMIT it, we have all been guilty of suddenly seeing a speed camera or radar on the roads, and immediately hitting the vehicle’s brakes to slow down and avoid be‐ ing hit with a speeding fine, and then speeding up again

once we have passed the camera.

It was inevitable that the time would come when the authorities would get wise to this trick and bring out new technology to combat it, and they have, in the

A ‘Game-Changer’ IN what could be great news for travellers, British Airways are trialling a new Covid test which is said to be a ‘game changer’.

The new coronavirus test has been created by Canary Global, a medical technology company. The test is called the Pelican Covid-19 antigen test, and staggeringly it will take only 25 seconds in order to produce its results.

Raj Reddy, Canary Global’s chief executive, explained his hopes for the test and said, “We developed the test with the travel industry in mind, where speed, accuracy and ease of use are paramount.

British Airways are set to be the first airline in the world to trial the new ultra-rapid test. Sean Doyle, the British Airways chief executive spoke of the company’s commitment to testing solutions and explained that the airline is, “committed to exploring easy and affordable testing solutions to help our customers travel again.”

form of ‘cascading radars’.

This is such a simple method really, based on a second mobile kinemome‐ ter being positioned just a few metres after the first fixed‐radar, which, as soon as the driver accelerates away again, thinking he has passed the offending radar and can put his (or her) foot down, registers the vehi‐ cle’s speed and you are caught.

It is sometimes known for traffic police to position two or three of these devices at times, separated by a few kilometres, behind a warn‐ ing sign.

The DGT plans to incorpo‐ rate this system into their current network of radars located on the motorways and conventional roads of Spain, with 25,000km of road networks being cov‐ ered by around 1,500 radars and cameras located in sec‐ tions considered as danger‐ ous throughout the country.

To read more stories like this go to ww.euroweeklynews.com

EUROPEAN PRESS

www.euroweeklynews.com

EUROPEAN NIBS DENMARK

FRANCE

Mini Golf

Please quit

AS lockdown eases so a new concept in dining with sports is being opened in Copenhagen called Camping.

It’s a bar, burger restaurant and 14-hole mini-golf course all rolled into one building with the course designed by former European champion Anders Gudmundstuen.

THE French army’s chief of staff said that soldiers who had signed an open letter warning about the risk of civil war due to concessions to Muslims should resign from the Army as a matter of honour, but he did not threaten reprisals if they didn’t.

THE NETHERLANDS Falcon chicks

NORWAY Tractor protest

A PAIR of peregrine falcons who have taken over the bell tower of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam have surprised bird watchers firstly for settling in the centre of the city and secondly for producing two healthy chicks which they are currently feeding.

NORWEGIAN farmers drove their tractors to the Parliament Building in Oslo to show their anger at the fact that the government offered them less than half the amount of taxpayer support and subsidy they’d demanded whilst their cooperative leaders earn large salaries which farmers pay.

BELGIUM

FINLAND

Human Parcel

Parkinson’s study

EMERGENCY Services in the Flemish city of Mechelen were called in by a group of children after one of their friends, an 11-year-old boy had managed to shut himself in a Belgian Post Group parcel locker. He was freed unhurt by the fire brigade.

RESEARCHERS from the University of Helsinki have reported that following a study comparing infected and healthy patients, they believe that they have found the cause of Parkinson’s Disease which is due to the presence of hydrogen sulphide produced by intestinal bacteria which moves to the brain.

GERMANY Covid con POLICE in Germany are warning that there is a marked increase in the number of fake documents allegedly confirming that the holder has received two vaccinations against the virus. This means that potentially infected individuals could escape travel restrictions or access services that require negative tests.

SWEDEN Bear off A STUFFED bear, originally owned by King Oscar II in 1888 was donated to the Swedish Museum of Natural History and was loaned to the municipality of Rättvik 35 years ago. Now following a break-in, it has been stolen and its whereabouts are being sought by police.

20 - 26 May 2021

EWN 33

FINANCE BUSINESS EXTRA Treasury requirement WITH effect from Friday May 14, tax advisers are required to declare to the Spanish Tax Agency details of new cross-border operations designed to mitigate tax obligations on behalf of their clients whilst confirming that they are neither illegal nor fraudulent.

Cheaper loans ANXIOUS to attract new customers, BBVA bank is slashing the interest rate charged on its Fast Online Loan business from 9.37 per cent to 3.97 per cent and potential borrowers will be able to apply to take advantage of this from now until June 9.

Better deal THE UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published a 56-page consultation document entitled A New Consumer Duty in which it explains how it intends to expand its existing rules to ensure firms in the financial sector provide a ‘higher level of consumer protection consistently.’

Iranian discussions IRAN’S Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met with his Spanish counterpart Arancha González Laya in Madrid on May 13 at the start of a tour of different European Countries.

They exchanged views on the latest state of relations between the two countries in various political and economic fields during the meeting.

Reviewing the relations between the two countries in various areas, Zarif assessed the capacity of economic cooperation between them beyond the current condition and stressed the need to explore ways to expand cooperation in various economic fields by removing some existing obstacles.

STAT OF WEEK

www.euroweeklynews.com • 20 - 26 May 2021

€3.42 billion

is the turnover announced by Spanish telecom group Telefónica for the first quarter of 2021, slightly ahead of forecast.

Future ‘Britcoin’ Plan BRITAIN can use Brexit to build its own digital currency and experts believe it has the potential to boost the UK’s economy by an eye‐watering £90 billion, according to a re‐ port from the Express.

And the CityUnited project is urging Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak to be bold and think big as they look to a fu‐ ture in which e‐commerce will increasingly take centre‐ stage ‐ emphasising the po‐ tential for the UK to get a

massive head‐start on the Eu‐ ropean Union.

China is already pushing ahead with its own plan to launch its Central Bank Digital Currency’ by the time of next year’s Beijing Winter Olympics ‐ and last month Mr Sunak announced the cre‐ ation of a task force aimed at exploring the possibility of Britain launching what he termed ‘Britcoin’.

Lord Hannan of Kingsclere, who sits on the CityUnited

LEGALLY SPEAKING

project’s advisory board, said: “State‐backed digital curren‐ cies are coming: that is not in doubt. The question is whether another country will get there early enough to of‐ fer an alternative model to China’s ‐ a model more root‐ ed in the principles of privacy and private property.

“Britain, with its concentra‐ tion of financial services ex‐ pertise, its fintech hub, and its common law system, is ideal‐ ly placed to be that country.”

CityUnited’s analysts be‐ lieve it is crucial that the UK is not left behind ‐ and has mapped out the way forward in its Aurora report, published last week.

Specifically, it proposes a CBDC for the wholesale sec‐ tor, representing the bulk of UK banking transactions, in‐ volving the BoE and City insti‐ tutions, followed by further enhancements designed for the retail sector, improving cost and efficiency

Feel secure while abroad

When is income tax due?

Last week’s EWN had an article saying that Spanish income tax would be due on amounts above €22,000. This amount refers to employees because their tax is deducted from their wage every month. I have always been under the impression ‐ and various websites agree ‐ that there is a tax‐free allowance of €8,100 for persons over 75 years old. Income tax is then paid on a sliding scale which starts at 19 per cent, depend‐ ing on amount earned. I have paid for the last 15 years. Have my accountants got it wrong?

Creditor offer DESPITE being declared bankrupt 12 years ago in September 2009, property developer and builder Nozar is still attempting to settle with creditors and has now received court permission to endeavour to reach an agreement whereby it will pay them €286 million.

34

T D (Costa Blanca) No, your accoun‐ tants have not got it YOU AND THE LAW wrong. The short ar‐ IN SPAIN ticle to which you re‐ fer was intended only to remind people that Spanish income tax is now payable in May and June. Only those persons who are employed at a salary less than €22,000 and have their tax already deducted will not have to make a declaration. The Tax Agency will do it for them and send them a provisional declaration for them to accept or amend if necessary. The article did not even touch upon the reductions and exemptions available to all taxpay‐ ers.

DAVID SEARL

Send your questions for David Searl through lawyers Ubeda-Retana and Associates in Fuengirola at Ask@lawtaxspain.com, or call 952 667 090.

DIXONS CARPHONE said that four becomes one as it rebrands back to the name first introduced in 1927 by bicycle shop (which sold radios), Cur‐ rys.

With effect from October of this year, Currys PC World, Carphone Warehouse, Team Knowhow and Dixons Carphone become one brand.

This is the latest move in a com‐ plete restructure which will see 300

ON May 12, the UK Depart‐ ment for Digital, Media Cul‐ ture and Sport wrote to the Premier League confirming that it had no objection to it rolling over its UK TV con‐ tracts.

Under normal circum‐ stances the rights would have been put to open ten‐ der, but ministers said they were “minded” to grant an exclusion order due to the problems to football caused by the pandemic.

The agreement of all the clubs and rights holders ‐ Sky Sports, BT Sport, Amazon Prime Video and BBC Sport ‐ means the existing three‐ year deal will be rolled over and run until 2025.

Amazon UK investment

Rest assured.

WHEN you take a trip you should not have to worry about what might happen should you pass away.

With Golden Leaves Funeral Plans you can rest assured that if you die away from home your remains will be returned to your place of residence, if that is your wish, at no addi‐ tional cost.

As long as there are flights available, there are no limita‐ tions to which airports can be used for repatriation and there is no extra charge for trans‐ portation to get to the airport.

If you have travel insurance this usually includes repatria‐ tion. Golden Leaves would co‐ ordinate with the insurance company. Only if there were any extra costs would the next of kin be responsible.

You could also cancel the plan and get a refund minus 20 per cent of the plan purchase price. The Funeral Plans also in‐ clude cover in Ireland.

From anywhere in the world your relatives would simply need to make one call to Golden Leaves to put your desired plan into action.

www.goldenleavesinternational.com enquiries@goldenleaves.com Facebook: goldenleavesspain

Currying favour stores transformed, 13,000 uniforms upgraded and over 300 vehicle liver‐ ies changed in the UK and Ireland.

Just one store in Edinburgh has al‐ ready been unveiled with the new livery.

There will be a £190 million (€210

Premier League Football

million) increase in innovation invest‐ ment in 2021/22 in order to make shopping with Currys even easier for customers.

Changes include: Talk tech with tech people. The re‐ tailer will invest nearly £25 million

AMAZON announced on May 14 that it will create more than 10,000 new permanent jobs in 2021, taking its total UK workforce to more than 55,000 people by the end of year.

It also confirmed that it will invest £10 million (€11 million) over the next three years to train up to 5,000 employees in new skills and support the UK Govern‐ ment’s investment pro‐ gramme.

This training will be of‐ fered through Amazon’s Ca‐ reer Choice programme, where the company pays course fees for its employees who have expressed an in‐ terest in pursuing a career outside of the company. (€27.5 million) over two years in skills, well‐being and reward pro‐ grammes for colleagues to enhance the experience for customers, in store and via ShopLive, the 24/7 live video shopping service.

Currys will also launch RepairLive ‐ a market leading, virtual repair ser‐ vice to help get tech up and running again without the need for a home visit, which is currently being piloted.

36 EWN

www.euroweeklynews.com

20 - 26 May 2021

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR MONEY WITH US

LONDON - FTSE 100

See our advert on previous page

C LOSING P RICES M AY 17

COMPANY PRICE(P) CHANGE(P) 3I Group 1.244,50 1.256,50 Admiral Group 2.942,0 2.954,0 Anglo American 3.290,5 3.317,0 Antofagasta 1.756,50 1.796,00 Ashtead Group 4.997,4 5.026,8 Associated British Foods 2.279,0 2.308,0 AstraZeneca 7.858,5 7.871,8 Auto Trader Group Plc 548,40 554,20 Avast 443,60 448,50 Aveva 3.180,0 3.248,0 Aviva 408,60 411,30 B&M European Value Retail SA572,80 579,20 BAE Systems 521,60 527,60 Bank VTB DRC 1,298 1,336 Barclays 180,29 182,34 Barratt Developments 767,80 776,33 Berkeley 4.727,0 4.763,7 BHP Group 2.205,50 2.237,50 BP 309,65 313,23 British American Tobacco 2.810,0 2.842,5 British Land Company 527,80 537,00 BT Group 165,42 165,95 Bunzl 2.307,9 2.314,7 Burberry Group 2.101,0 2.125,0 Carnival 1.585,3 1.624,7 Centrica 55,02 55,11 Coca Cola HBC AG 2.530,0 2.534,0 Compass 1.514,50 1.562,00 CRH 3.615,0 3.635,0 Croda Intl 6.500,0 6.556,0 DCC 6.040,0 6.064,0 Diageo 3.344,3 3.367,5 DS Smith 420,54 424,54 EasyJet 994,58 1.028,06 Experian 2.649,0 2.667,0 Ferguson 9.238,0 9.330,0 Flutter Entertainment 12.625,0 12.830,0 Fresnillo 890,14 908,36 GlaxoSmithKline 1.367,14 1.376,20 Glencore 323,30 327,50 Halma 2.490,0 2.517,0 Hargreaves Lansdown 1.723,00 1.742,93 Hikma Pharma 2.374,00 2.381,00 HSBC 442,60 444,55 IAG 194,22 199,50 Imperial Brands 1.592,00 1.605,50 Informa 556,00 564,40 InterContinental 4.907,0 5.006,0 Intermediate Capital 2.040,00 2.069,00 Intertek 5.846,0 5.900,0 ITV 128,08 129,49

% CHG. 1.240,00 2.934,9 3.278,5 1.748,00 4.976,9 2.278,0 7.842,8 547,60 442,16 3.174,5 408,46 566,40 521,60 1,298 180,25 767,00 4.727,0 2.199,00 309,22 2.805,0 526,00 161,70 2.302,0 2.093,0 1.585,3 54,23 2.518,4 1.511,50 3.609,0 6.488,0 6.032,0 3.339,9 419,90 993,80 2.642,0 9.226,0 12.580,0 886,76 1.364,80 322,45 2.487,0 1.719,00 2.368,00 442,25 193,76 1.585,00 555,40 4.906,0 2.038,00 5.818,0 127,70

NET VOL 40,40K 10,22K 198,50K 173,14K 3,54K 25,75K 9,94K 28,22K 34,85K 2,09K 182,67K 325,73K 446,58K 113,13K 989,27K 119,27K 9,88K 323,81K 487,35K 140,45K 220,86K 13,20M 5,79K 43,17K 36,59K 179,26K 2,16K 318,27K 45,25K 11,57K 1,16K 10,58K 23,27K 126,64K 59,17K 16,46K 10,37K 39,65K 78,71K 2,08M 23,97K 9,12K 6,95K 1,86M 3,31M 91,38K 76,22K 13,24K 22,86K 11,75K 140,42K

COMPANY

PRICE(P)

J Sainsbury Johnson Matthey Land Securities Legal & General Lloyds Banking London Stock Exchange Meggitt Melrose Industries Mondi National Grid NatWest Group Next Norilskiy Nikel ADR Ocado Persimmon Phoenix Prudential Reckitt Benckiser Relx Rentokil Rightmove Rio Tinto PLC Rolls-Royce Holdings Rosneft DRC Royal Dutch Shell A Royal Dutch Shell A Royal Dutch Shell B RSA Insurance Sage Samsung Electronics DRC Sberbank Schroders Scottish Mortgage Segro Severn Trent Smith & Nephew Smiths Group Spirax-Sarco Engineering SSE St. James’s Place Standard Chartered Standard Life Aberdeen Taylor Wimpey Tesco Tui Unilever United Utilities Vodafone Group PLC Whitbread WPP

262,80 3.243,0 728,18 282,40 48,22 7.218,0 494,10 162,15 1.923,00 934,57 192,64 8.094,0 36,85 1.948,50 3.141,0 737,71 1.518,00 6.362,0 1.854,00 470,10 574,20 6.142,3 104,39 7,21 1.401,4 1.401,00 1.344,2 683,90 643,40 1.756,50 16,38 3.528,0 1.140,89 1.001,00 2.511,0 1.520,50 1.561,00 12.140,0 1.545,78 1.374,50 497,90 270,20 176,50 231,85 423,60 4.304,4 985,60 141,07 3.129,0 979,80

CHANGE(P)

% CHG.

NET VOL

263,04 3.252,0 732,14 285,00 48,45 7.274,0 501,80 166,05 1.945,50 942,10 193,70 8.214,0 37,17 2.002,00 3.177,4 740,60 1.531,50 6.384,0 1.860,50 473,70 580,20 6.205,0 108,36 7,35 1.419,2 1.417,90 1.360,5 684,10 650,60 1.762,50 16,51 3.550,0 1.150,00 1.005,50 2.540,0 1.529,00 1.573,00 12.285,0 1.552,45 1.381,50 506,20 272,50 179,35 232,13 432,50 4.924,0 996,00 142,06 3.205,0 987,80

259,20 3.234,0 726,25 282,30 48,10 7.206,0 491,60 161,95 1.919,50 934,00 191,85 8.070,0 36,71 1.948,50 3.140,0 735,20 1.516,50 6.339,0 1.850,50 469,30 572,40 6.129,9 104,26 7,21 1.399,6 1.399,50 1.342,6 683,80 641,20 1.753,00 16,35 3.517,0 1.134,39 1.000,50 2.511,0 1.517,50 1.559,50 12.125,0 1.538,00 1.374,50 497,50 270,10 175,65 231,15 423,10 4.289,9 984,80 140,17 3.128,0 979,00

106,69K 13,22K 10,14K 179,23K 18,54M 50,66K 124,78K 588,98K 32,05K 346,25K 794,11K 8,48K 39,59K 71,47K 2,75K 30,11K 197,45K 51,63K 71,04K 150,92K 100,52K 17,17K 1,88M 86,58K 223,15K 223,15K 71,16K 4,29K 127,92K 1,61K 266,09K 4,02K 294,70K 37,94K 31,38K 73,62K 10,86K 3,21K 51,01K 21,46K 635,49K 59,20K 600,89K 310,61K 664,00K 21,82K 46,29K 394,27K 26,98K 106,98K

1.16132

0.86155

Units per €

US dollar (USD) ........................................1.2133 Japan yen (JPY)......................................132.555 Switzerland franc (CHF) ...........................1.0950 Denmark kroner (DKK) .............................7.4362 Norway kroner (NOK) ...............................10.030

currenciesdirect.com/moraira • Tel: +34 966 265 072 THE ABOVE TABLE USES THE CURRENT INTERBANK EXCHANGE RATES, WHICH AREN’T REPRESENTATIVE OF THE RATE WE OFFER

DOW JONES C LOSING P RICES M AY 17

COMPANY 3M Alphabet C Amazon.com Amgen Apple Boeing Caterpillar Chevron Cisco Coca-Cola Facebook Goldman Sachs Home Depot Honeywell IBM Intel J&J JPMorgan McDonald’s Merck&Co Microsoft Nike Procter&Gamble Salesforce.com Tesla UnitedHealth Verizon Visa A Walmart Walt Disney

PRICE 204,38 2.316,16 3.222,90 251,38 127,45 228,47 242,23 109,47 52,90 54,73 315,94 368,77 323,63 227,36 144,68 55,35 170,22 164,01 231,72 78,29 248,15 135,93 138,01 217,66 589,74 409,80 58,69 226,94 139,52 173,70

CHANGE 205,12 2.321,14 3.228,86 254,59 127,89 228,81 243,35 109,82 53,22 55,10 316,85 369,51 327,32 228,23 145,69 55,85 171,61 164,45 232,64 79,15 249,18 136,68 139,10 218,27 592,87 412,59 59,26 227,51 140,24 174,91

CHANGE% VOLUME(M) 203,01 1,48M 2.283,32 1,33M 3.183,00 3,33M 251,15 2,29M 125,85 81,92M 224,35 10,16M 240,08 2,04M 107,80 9,12M 52,60 14,79M 54,69 11,73M 309,08 19,25M 361,70 2,73M 321,86 4,00M 224,85 2,08M 143,96 2,75M 54,26 28,16M 170,17 5,80M 161,99 10,58M 230,47 1,94M 78,22 7,89M 245,49 23,90M 134,05 4,37M 137,67 5,99M 214,15 4,43M 570,46 33,37M 408,50 2,07M 58,67 13,77M 224,92 4,78M 138,43 5,36M 168,78 33,15M M - MILLION DOLLARS

NASDAQ C LOSING P RICES M AY 17

COMPANY

CHANGE NET / %

VOLUME

Most Advanced Booking Holdings Inc. Amazon.com Inc. Alphabet Inc. Cl C E-Home Household Service Holdings Ltd. Alphabet Inc. Cl A Broadcom Inc. 8% Pfd. Series A MicroStrategy Inc. MercadoLibre Inc. Charter Communications Inc. Cl A First Citizens Bancshares Inc. Cl A ASML Holding N.V.

+3.41% +1.94% +2.40% +1,100% +2.21% +2.80% +6.81% +2.04% +3.66% +2.94% +3.96%

340,396 3.33M 1.33M 1.66M 1.60M 4,637 561,638 473,013 1.09M 40,448 1.33M

-2.54% -0.58% -17.84% -10.33% -7.00% -29.74% -17.31% -4.78% -0.92% -0.66% -10.65%

11.75M 5,965 988,908 56,122 902,161 563,471 217,236 5,389 237,425 3,716 308,541

Most Declined Coinbase Global Inc. Atrion Corp.

VOXX International Corp. Cl A Big Rock Partners Acquisition Corp.

AbCellera Biologics Inc. Data Storage Corp.

Save Foods Inc. Midwest Holding Inc. Casey's General Stores Inc. Hingham Institution for Savings AudioEye Inc.

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

www.euroweeklynews.com

Consum has good 2020

GENERAL DIRECTOR: Juan Luis Durich announced the company’s 2020 figures.

THE supermarket chain Con‐ sum which has a major pres‐ ence in Valencia, Murcia and Catalonia announced 2020 turnover of €3.3249 billion, 13.3 per cent more than the previous year.

According to General Direc‐ tor of the cooperative, Juan Luis Durich overall growth dur‐ ing the year was 10.4 per cent which is 7 per cent more than the average for the food distri‐ bution sector in Spain and profits reached €65.5 million.

The organisation is commit‐ ted to expand the number of Consum and Charter stores and also to build its online presence which is currently running at a loss with turnover of just €44.5 million.

The year 2020 was a much better one than originally fore‐ cast and turnover benefited from the lockdown with more customers visiting town and

city‐based outlets even though typical holiday destinations saw a reduction in sales.

The cooperative is now the sixth largest supermarket chain in Spain and its 2020 figures showed greater growth than many of its com‐ petitors which is why it is committed to continue to ex‐ pand with at least 37 new su‐ permarkets opening in 2021, together with a refurbish‐ ment of 44.

It currently employs 17,386 members of staff (an increase of 1,355 over 2019) of which some 72 per cent are women and 92 per cent are on some form of permanent contract.

Like John Lewis & Partners in the UK, staff are also owners of the business and in 2020, Consum distributed €71.5 mil‐ lion shared between worker members and bonuses.

Looking forward Consum

Climate Change Act AS the Spanish Parliament ratified the Climate Change and Energy Transition Act on May 13, it joins three other countries which now ban the search for new hydrocarbon resources.

Nicolas Entrup, Co-Director of International Relations at OceanCare, an international organisation for the protection of marine wildlife and its environment commented: “We applaud the Spanish Government and Parliament for today’s decision to ban oil and gas exploration.

“Spain is now within the group of progressive countries that are committed to putting an end to the era of fossil fuels and moving towards the decarbonisation of the economy, in compliance with the Paris Agreement.”

will continue to expand, but does not expect 2021 to be quite as successful as 2020.

BUSINESS EXTRA Looking up IN its annual report, the Bank of Spain says it expects to see the Spanish economy start to recover in the second half of 2021, but much depends on speed of vaccination and recovery of tourism whilst 2022 will see the bonus of the delayed EU Recovery funds.

Bank salaries SPANISH Minister of Economic Affairs, Nadia Calviño, has confirmed her belief that the salaries and benefits granted to senior managers in the financial sector should not just be linked to financial targets but also to the earnings of other employees and the quality of service offered to customers.

Backing Argentina SPAIN’S Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez confirmed that his government supports the renegotiation of Argentina’s $45 billion (€37 billion) debt with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) saying that the penalties damage Argentina’s economic and financial situation following a meeting with President Alberto Fernandez in Madrid.

20 - 26 May 2021

EWN 37

38 EWN

www.euroweeklynews.com

20 - 26 May 2021

FEATURE

Violence is never the answer

LEAPY LEE SAYS IT OTHERS THINK IT DELIGHTED to see the opening of the GB News channel is now imminent. Andrew Neil, who left the BBC under a cloud after his popular show was dropped by the BBC, is spearheading this new channel, which promises to appeal to the ‘broad, proportionate spectrum of everyday people’ and to broadcast its news content with impartiality rather than the ‘biased woke wonders at the anti‐British BBC.’ The channel will broadcast for 24 hours and is being received with great enthusiasm by the general public.

Thousands of Tweets have been posted; large numbers have accused the BBC of being out of touch with the larger portion of the British public. Others have pointed out that its reversed racism policies are so woke orientated it is driving the people to despair. Well I can’t wait either.

Sky news is no better. I see no reason why GB News shouldn’t take millions of viewers from both of these left wing leaning programmes. Let’s hope they will finally be able to overcome the bias and stifling of the freedom of speech, which has been gagging the true feelings and

NEW CHANNEL: Will appeal to everyday people. opinions of the British public far too long.

They could start with a fair assessment of the tragic Israeli Palestine conflict, which has once again erupted into open bloody warfare. I’m not going to go into the whole history, or indeed give any views on this border/state issue; it is much too complex and would take far too long.

What I have witnessed once again is the

utterly biased reporting from the BBC. Without doubt, were Israel not the possessors of their anti‐missile defences, the sheer numbers of rockets launched indiscriminately into the country by Hamas, would by now have killed or maimed thousands of their citizens. Israel retaliated to the first onslaught from Hamas, by firing back as discriminately as possible against an enemy that uses

mainly civilian areas to launch its attacks.

Without the protection of an anti‐ missile system, of course the Palestinians are receiving far higher numbers of casualties than the Israelis. The BBC has pounced on these figures, presenting a constant stream of biased propaganda to once again demonstrate the ‘unfair’ superiority of ‘bullying’ Israeli which is costing the lives of so many innocent

women and children in Palestine.

Almost every report that comes out shows the carnage and destruction being wrought on the Palestinian people. Far less reporting comes out of Israel and if it does it is often carefully vetted to show leading Israeli figures reiterating their intention to ‘wipe out the threat of Hamas’ altogether.

Well, let us all hope and pray the awful escalation of this conflict is reversed as quickly as possible and the tragic loss of civilian lives halted before too many more women and children give their lives to a cause which will NEVER be resolved by violence. Dialogue is the only way out of this awful bloody mire, but with the Arab population committed to the complete destruction of the state of Israel, frankly I don’t hold too much hope for any of that in the foreseeable future.

Keep the Faith.

Love Leapy. leapylee2002@gmail.com expatradioscotland. Mon. Wed. Fri. To read more articles from our columnists and to have your say in the comments go to www.euroweeklynews.com

Leapy Lee’s opinions are his own and are not necessarily representative of those of the publishers, advertisers or sponsors.

FEATURE

www.euroweeklynews.com

20 - 26 May 2021

EWN 39

Advertising Feature

Say goodbye to the sun tax and hello to cheaper electricity

THE recent removal of Spain’s infa‐ mous ‘sun tax’ has paved the way for businesses and homeowners alike to generate their own electricity and make huge savings with solar PV pan‐ els.

Previously, the taxes levied on those who chose to generate their own solar energy, coupled with the cumbersome paperwork and legislation, made the use of solar PV panels a prohibitive op‐ tion.

Now that’s all changed and owners of both commercial and residential buildings are able to install solar roof panels and produce electricity without any additional taxes being imposed.

The changes even go a stage further, al‐ lowing consumers to be reimbursed for any surplus they generate.

But what does installing and using solar PV panels involve and what are the benefits? Martin Tye, CEO of Spain’s leading green energy company explains all.

“Solar PV panels are a fantastic in‐

SOLAR PANELS: Require very little maintenance.

ROOF PANELS: Are a fantastic long term investment. vestment as they result in massive cost savings, not just in the short term but in the long term too. Our solar PV pan‐ els come with a 20‐year fully compre‐ hensive guarantee so you have peace of mind that they will stand the test of time and continue to save you mon‐

ey,” Martin explained.

For those considering solar panels the first step is a survey of the roof, so that the design of the installation can be made.

“We use satellite technology that is so accurate we don’t actually need to

visit the property to conduct the survey.

This makes it a much more efficient process.”

Once designed and produced the Mariposa Energía team installs the roof panels and takes care of all the registra‐ tion paperwork. They also provide full maintenance support, although as Mar‐ tin explains, solar panels actually need very little maintenance.

“We take care of the entire process

and pride ourselves on excellent cus‐ tomer service, making it a smooth and easy process for anyone considering so‐ lar panels. As soon as the panels are in‐ stalled our customers see their energy bills dramatically reduce.”

And it’s not just money that the solar panels help to save. As a clean, green and completely renewable source of electricity, solar panels also help to save the future of our planet.

Reduce your costs and your energy bills with solar PV panels. Contact the friendly Mariposa Energía team today to find out more: call +34 951 120 830, email info@mariposaenergia.es or visit www. mariposaenergia.es

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42 EWN

www.euroweeklynews.com

20 - 26 May 2021

NEWS

GO LOCAL

THE EUROWEEKLY NEWS is urg‐ ing its readers to support local businesses in the community by going local now that the lock‐ down has ended and for your all your shopping this year, instead of feeding online giants and su‐ perstores.

We challenge you to rediscov‐ er your local high streets, mar‐ kets, butchers, greengrocers and all of the wonderfully quirky in‐ dependent businesses in your area.

Now that the Covid‐19 pan‐ demic appears to be under con‐ trol, it is a good idea to try and support many local businesses by ordering online and making use of any click and collect ser‐ vices they can operate, especially if you are unable to get out due to health reasons or any other restrictions.

The joy of shopping local means that independent busi‐ nesses can help support the local community.

Although it may be a euro or two cheaper elsewhere or on‐ line, consider where your money is actually going.

By shopping at an indepen‐ dent store you’re putting food on a local family’s table, and there is no better time than now to give back to your community

BUY LOCAL: By shopping locally, independent businesses can help support the local community.

by making a small gesture and shopping in this way.

Many local stores support lo‐ cal charities, support and spon‐ sor local sports teams and in many cases the small indepen‐ dent stores are actually much more than just a small high street shop, they’re a family’s legacy, often passed down through numerous generations and support not just the current

owner but the generation be‐ fore.

For those stores which are new, that extra couple of euros spent there are supporting someone’s dream and ambition, and also the courage it took them to step out alone, which is no easy task. It takes quite a large chunk of money to set up an in‐ dependent store and compete with the multinational and

chains.

So be sure to pre‐order your meat from a local butcher and get your spuds from a local greengrocer, let us revive that community spirit and get to know our neighbours again.

You could also consider pur‐ chasing gift vouchers from local businesses to help them over the coming weeks, thinking outside the box can often lead to some

fantastic ideas. Why not buy a meal for two, an hour’s tattoo time at a local studio, a hair cut at a local salon or an online study course for someone looking to change their career path.

As people are struggling with finances thinking about what friends and family may actually need is important too. Whilst it’s nice to give a glamourous gift perhaps pre‐paying a family member’s phone bill for the month would actually be a bet‐ ter gift. Helping people alleviate stress and worry, give the gift of peace of mind through these dif‐ ficult times.

Choosing to spend your mon‐ ey locally will really make a differ‐ ence in the recovery of the local economy. When we buy local, our money stays local, and it strengthens the local economy in

two ways. First, buying local keeps money circulating within the local economy.

Studies have shown that local businesses recirculate a greater share of every euro as they cre‐ ate locally owned supply chains and invest in their employees.

Data shows that local retailers return 52 per cent of their rev‐ enue back into the local econo‐ my, compared to just 14 per cent for national chain retailers.

Money circulating through the local economy benefits everyone who is a part of each transaction.

For example, let’s look at a local farmer growing produce.

First, they sell to a local restau‐ rant, which in turn prepares the fresh produce and sells it to local customers. The farmer pays its local employees and the restau‐ rant uses revenue from sales to buy supplies from a neighbour‐ hood hardware store. This exam‐ ple illustrates how the recircula‐ tion of money in the local economy leads to a stronger fi‐ nancial foundation for our neigh‐ bours and communities.

Buying local also fuels new employment and job opportuni‐ ties for people within our com‐ munity.

Studies show, locally owned businesses employ more people per unit of sales and retain more employees over time.

A fantastic example of how to support your local community is with a Charity Gift certificate, why not donate to your loved one’s favourite cause.

Just remember to still follow the latest government advice and any guidance businesses have to keep everyone safe in the future.

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FEATURE

www.euroweeklynews.com

20 - 26 May 2021

EWN 47

Advertising Feature

The product everyone is talking about DO YOU OR A FRIEND HAVE A SWIMMING POOL? If so then you’ll probably come across the most common problem of staining around the top of your liner, tiled or fibreglass pool from suntan lotion or just daily grime that you can’t remove resulting in having to replace in total.

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EASY TO ORDER ONLINE. At www.borderchoice.com. We look forward to helping you make your swimming pool LOOK LIKE NEW AGAIN.

Some silly recommendations MIKE SENKER IN MY OPINION Views of a Grumpy Old Man I’M back. I needed a break, not from being grumpy, just from everything that’s going on at the moment, especially the way governments, politicians and all the TV experts are making some very vulnerable people terrified to do anything. Stop brainwashing people!

Let me give you an example. I went to a funeral last week and, as funerals go, it was very unusual as everyone was to wear bright clothes and treat it as a celebration of the life of our friend. When we went inside there was seating for about 20 people and the rest of the pews had red and white tape criss-crossed over them. I was in my wheelchair so I was OK but there was a lady looking for somewhere to sit. So I said to her, sit there and she said, oh no I can’t, it’s got tape round it. So I said, yes it’s a bit of tape, move it, it’s not an electrified fence!

And guess what? She moved it and sat down. The point is how quickly we have become compliant to some very silly recommendations. What’s ridiculous is they have crammed 20 odd people into four pews and taped off the rest instead of having them all

open and spreading folks about.

Anyone been asked if they want the flu jab? I always get a message from my doctor telling me to come and get it but nothing this year. Only me? I’d love to know.

A couple of weeks ago I questioned the real use of Bitcoin and cyber-crime and hey ho this week in the USA, Colonial Pipeline Co paid nearly $5 million to Eastern European hackers, contradicting earlier reports that the company had no intention of paying an extortion fee to help restore the country’s largest fuel pipeline.

The hefty ransom was paid in difficult-to-trace cryptocurrency hours after the attack, underscoring the immense pressure faced by the Georgia-based operator to get gasoline and jet fuel flowing again to major cities along the Eastern Seaboard. A person, familiar with the situation, said US government officials are aware that Colonial made the payment.

Once they received the payment, the hackers provided the operator with a decrypting tool to restore its disabled computer network. Apparently the tool was so slow that the company continued using its own backups to help restore the system. Did they waste $5m? The fact is if cryptocurrency didn’t exist this couldn’t happen.

See maybe this silly old fool does get the occasional thing right.

Email mikesenker@gmail.com

Mike’s opinions are his own and are not necessarily representative of those of the publishers, advertisers or sponsors.

48 EWN

www.euroweeklynews.com

20 - 26 May 2021

FEATURE

IS ‘PAPER-GATE’ FINALLY PAPERED OVER? wanted Tory donors to pay for the refur‐ bishment of his flat, in return for what has yet to be disclosed while he’s been willing to spend billions of taxpayers’ money on vanity projects, a ‘Boris Island’ airport for London, a ‘garden bridge’ over the Thames, aircraft paint jobs and even a new royal yacht.

Then, of course, there’s his latest wheeze ‐ to link Scotland and Northern Ireland via a tunnel or a bridge...

Boris’s problem is that he’s a Marmite figure. You either love him or loathe him ‐ he’s either an election winner or spinner of tales. Take your pick.

NORA JOHNSON BREAKING VIEWS Nora is the author of popular psychological suspense and crime thrillers and a freelance journalist.

To comment on any of the issues raised in her column, go to www.euroweeklynews.com/3.0.15/nora-johnson

WITH Boris Johnson reportedly preparing for a decade‐long premiership after the re‐ cent series of historic Tory victories in Labour’s former heartlands, voters seem to have forgiven him for ‘Paper‐gate’ and the questions asked about the ‘lavish spending’ on redecorating his Westmin‐ ster flat.

I don’t know where you stand on this, but it has certainly led to a war of words.

There are those who maintain the PM’s job is the most underpaid in the country given his relative accountabilities and responsi‐ bilities. And for someone who could earn more in other ways (writing etc) and has commitments based on that earning pow‐ er, it’s a real and challenging pay cut.

We should pay our PMs, they maintain, a salary commensurate with their responsi‐ bilities, and certainly more than head teachers and senior civil servants. And defi‐

MONEY WANTED: For childcare, wallpaper and an expensive sofa please. nitely more than BBC journalists.

On the other side of the argument are those who maintain Boris took the job knowing the salary (£157,372 or five times the average wage), since topped up with royalties from his books (reportedly amounting to about £25,000 since he be‐ came prime minister). Plus, he and his fi‐

ancée apparently own two houses which presumably could be sold if he were in dire straits.

But what annoys yet others is his alleged behaviour in ‘asking around’ for money for everything from childcare to wallpaper and an expensive sofa (with a toddler and a badly‐behaved dog in tow!). Reportedly, he

Nora Johnson’s psychological crime thrillers ‘The Sentinel’, ‘No Safe Place’, ‘Betrayal’, ‘The Girl in the Woods’, ‘The Girl in the Red Dress’, ‘No Way Back’, ‘Landscape of Lies’, ‘Retribution’, ‘Soul Stealer’, ‘The De Clerambault Code’ (www.nora‐johnson.net) available online as eBook (€0.99;£0.99), Apple Books, pa‐ perback and audiobook. All profits to Cos‐ ta del Sol Cudeca cancer charity.

To read more articles from our columnists and to have your say in the comments go to www.euroweeklynews.com

Nora Johnson’s opinions are her own and are not necessarily representative of those of the publishers, advertisers or sponsors.

DAVID WORBOYS “NO man is an island,” declared John Donne, referring to the human race.

Most of us are more complete and more fulfilled when considering ourself as part of a community. In fact, it can be extended to part of humanity as a whole. As Eckhart Tolle puts it, “each human being is an integral part of the collective human intelligence.” And, we are not only connected to all other humans but also to animals, birds, ma‐ rine life, reptiles, insects and plants ‐ in other words all forms of life. All this makes up universal intelligence.

If this be the case, why would one person ever want to inflict pain, cruelty or humiliation upon a fellow being, be it a human, a camel or a toad? It must be because he (or she) can see no connec‐ tion whatsoever with anybody he does not know or does not like, let alone ani‐ mals. He cannot imagine how he would feel enduring the same torment he is in‐ flicting. This is why most terrorists feels no remorse and no compassion for their victims in Court.

I have used the word ‘he’ because al‐ most all of the significant acts of war, ag‐

NO MAN IS AN ISLAND

ABJECT FAILURE: Queen Mary and Rosemary West tried to fly the flag for women’s equality. gression, torture and physical crime have been perpetrated by men and not women. Fortunately, attempts by Queen Mary and Rosemary West to fly the flag for women’s equality have so far been an abject failure.

By nature, most of us identify our‐ selves as part of a community, large or

small, but always exclusive. We may be of Malay extraction, a Swiss citizen, a Muslim, a Tutsi, an aristocrat, a mem‐ ber of a club, a socialist or a Millwall sup‐ porter. We perceive those outside these categories as different.

Differences are the essence of our existence. How boring it would be if ev‐

erybody were alike in appearance, man‐ nerisms, tastes and beliefs. But, all too often, people who are different are seen as targets who should be humiliat‐ ed or, if possible, converted ‐ or other‐ wise eliminated. But why should differ‐ ences not be celebrated rather than treated with suspicion or hostility?

Communities are defined by the tone of their skin or the shape of their eyes, nose or lips, but not by the colour of their eyes or hair. This is probably be‐ cause the customs and general appear‐ ance of blue‐eyed blonde Caucasians is not sufficiently different from those with brown eyes and dark hair.

Daesh, hate crimes, terrorism, racial discrimination, jingoism, genocide, reli‐ gious persecution, attacks on West Ham supporters, snobbishness and hu‐ miliation. If everybody recognised that we all belong to each other as part of the integrated essence of our planet, such attitudes would be seen, not merely as self‐destructive, but as point‐ less.

The only two examples I have named are women. But how can anybody not imagine how they would themselves feel being burned alive for their faith or tortured to death as a child?

To read more articles from our columnists and to have your say in the comments go to www.euroweeklynews.com

David Worboys’s opinions are his own and are not necessarily representative of those of the publishers, advertisers or sponsors.

FEATURE

www.euroweeklynews.com

Christina Sharp GLOBELINK INTERNATIONAL christina@globelink.co.uk.

COVID remains centre stage, im‐ pacting the lives of millions and immeasurably changing the travel landscape. Yet there’s a distinct ripple of travel opti‐ mism on the horizon.

Spain plans welcoming visitors from June, pending a digital health certificate pilot at Spanish airports through May, according to Spain’s Tourism Minister, at the World Travel & Tourism Council summit. The UK’s FCDO also unveiled their first traffic light country list for Brits ‐ re‐ viewed every three weeks. Read more about the breaking news on traffic light system.

It’s time to cautiously book those long‐awaited trips to fami‐ ly and friends abroad.

What travel lessons can we learn from 2020? Here’s how to avoid traveller pitfalls.

20 - 26 May 2021

EWN 49

Your Guide to Travelling in 2021 Passport It’s probably a while since you used it! Check it’s still valid ‐ some locations require six months left on your passport from your date of arrival.

The right destination If we learnt anything in 2020 it’s that things are unpre‐ dictable. You must regularly check local Government travel advice and those of your chosen location. Your trip depends on it.

Booking Select an operator with an up‐ front, no quibble refund/ reschedule option to save stress and cash if your trip can’t go ahead due to Covid restrictions.

Travel Insurance won’t cover lockdowns.

Accommodation Book early. There may be less choice and reduced capacity.

Consider opting for private space with less footfall, like a

PROTECT YOURSELF: With free Covid cover included. villa, or apartment.

Protect Yourself with Travel Insurance All insurance varies and many don’t cover pandemics. The good news is, whilst other insurers paired‐back cover, Globelink en‐ hanced policies to include free Covid cover if you catch Covid before you travel and during your trip, including travel com‐ panions and anyone you’re due to stay with. Read more here. If

you can’t travel yet ‐ that’s ok ‐ chose annual cover with a future Start Date (remember Cancella‐ tion protection won’t commence until your start date).

Trip Itinerary Venues and attractions may be closed, have reduced capacity and will almost certainly require advanced booking.

Hand luggage Latest 2021 essentials include spare face coverings, travel size hand sanitiser and antibacterial wipes!

Health Declarations / Covid Tests Check for advanced health declaration requirements, like Covid ‘PCR’ within 72 hours of travel. It’s up to you to check de‐ parture requirements from your location and entry requirements to your destination.

Special Airport Assistance You can still book support, like

buggy/wheelchair assistance, but you should pre‐book in advance.

At the Airport Many airports are restricting entry only to those who are trav‐ elling. Almost all locations re‐ quire face coverings inside the airport and on the plane. You may need to pre‐book check‐in security slots.

Temperature checks Most airports have tempera‐ ture check requirements. You won’t be permitted to travel if you fail temperature checks. Glo‐ belink Covid Insurance will have you covered though.

Arrival at Destination Be prepared. Know require‐ ments or restrictions in your chosen location, eg: Covid test requirements; provision of con‐ tact details; self‐isolation; cur‐ fews; reduced shop and restau‐ rant opening; restricted local travel.

Wherever you’re going, we look forward to welcoming you back.

Visit www.globelink.eu, or call our linkline Spain number 518 880 332

EW YOUR PAPER - YOUR VOICE - YOUR OPINION Letters should be emailed to yoursay@euroweeklynews.com or make your comments on our website: www.euroweeklynews.com Views expressed and opinions given are not necessarily those of the EWN publishers. No responsibility is accepted for accuracy of information, errors, omissions or statements.

CONFIRMED BREMAINER From our Facebook Dog pee wash

Sir/Ma’am While I deeply care for my country of origin and have fought many a battle to not only keep my British nationality but also get back my right to vote having had it retracted after more than 15 years away, I very much agree on many points in the excellent letter from Michael Thompson in your last week’s edition 13th - 19th May 2021. To his well put reasons for another look at Britain in Europe, I would like to add the following of my own.

First, it is outrageous that such a long lasting life changing vote should have been on a 50/50 basis. This wasn’t some by-election that could be righted in a short time. Yes, for the lies and innuendos, certainly many should be held to account and I am totally stumped by the fact that so many of my countrymen while seeing that presently the PM and his cohorts are having a slippery time now, think that it is the pole that is greasy, when to me it seems clear it is the politicians themselves who are covered in slime, especially the PM and his bonhomie version of trumpism.

The brilliant layout of vaccination is 95 per cent the work of our magnificent NHS (as opposed to the failure of the govt. friendly mob who were paid by pals to deal with test and trace). Perhaps also to be taken into account, as the tide for renewed separatism mounts in Bonnie Scotland, we should understand their fury, having had their first referendum squashed by the fleeing north on bended knee of the usual suspects to assure Scotland that ‘Better Together’ is the best British mantra and that Scotland ‘dearies’ should be aware that if they left our Union Jack they would certainly not be alright in Europe as they would OUT of Europe and on the end of the queue to get back in, as Spain especially busy dealing with Catalonia and Basque Country under a right wing government then would certainly not approve and let them in. Those in London should not think the same tricks will work again, pandemic or not and Nicola seems to have her eye squarely on the ball. Happily for her party, Spain is far more understanding under the PSOE and Brexit fallout. Remember HP, MP and Brexitards, the Scots keep their wrath warm!

Lastly, living now 56 years between Spain and Portugal, both of whom I am deeply attached to, and while emphatically, like Mr Thompson, a confirmed European, I have to feel deep shame for the disgusting behaviour allowed in so much of our British press. Few are without fault when referring to accurate news and some are straight out fact distorters such as ‘Non Dom’ Johnny Rothermere’s rag, and the twin tabloid/broadsheets owned by an ex-Aussie who suffers from megalomania and according to an excellent series on Channel 4, loathes EU since he could not breach those shores as he has done ours and Americas while still swamping his own country with his brand of mind numbing persuasions.

I am a confirmed member of Bremain and yes I have internet and at nearly 80 all my marbles too and shall certainly join your petition Mr Thompson and thank you for arranging it.

Gillian D Gribler T Scott

INDIAN STRAIN JUST when it looked as if things were going to get better for the Spanish hospitality trade, the Indian strain of coronavirus seems likely to put the recovery back a pace.

Very simply, it was hoped that Spain would move from Amber to Green on the next UK review of countries which could be visited without having to quarantine upon return to the UK, but as the British Government worries about the Indian strain it continues to advise British travellers to avoid countries on the Amber list.

Portugal has benefited considerably from its inclusion of the Green list and

CORRECTIONS

This is concerning your story about public pee patrol. I have not seen people wash there dog pee down, plus about the dog mess on pavements, the fair ground car park in la Cala where people do not pick it up after their dogs. Dog poo is very dangerous to children if they fall over and get it on their hands and then put their hands near their mouth.

Philip Davis

Padron Firstly, let me say how much I look forward to and enjoy reading our weekly newspaper.

I read with interest your articles on the Padron on pages10 and 18 of this week’s issue re the importance on getting onto the Padron.

I am Scottish and have been in Benalmadena since November 8 last year. I was booked to go back on February 4, but the flight was cancelled and there have not been flights home since. It is likely that flights will start up again sometime next month, but until then I am a stranded tourist. As I have been here more than three months, I tried to register on the Padron, completed the form, took my passport and health card to the Social Security office, only to be told that I am not allowed on the Padron. I was very surprised as I always thought that they wanted people to register.

I have tried to get help from the Consulate in Malaga, but they are as much help as a chocolate teapot. I have also tried the NHS overseas service and another organisation, but am no further forward. I am sure I will get home quicker than I can get registered - or are they actually correct in saying that I am not allowed to register.

Best wishes, Donald

Dear Leapy, Your articles in Euro Weekly are always a good read and you are usually spot on with your opinions. I agree with most of what you say and totally accept your view that conspiracy theorists should keep believing what the heart and mind tells you. Therefore could it not be possible that the theorists are right after all, bearing in mind that we have been told that vaccines are the saviour for what affects only a fraction of the population and more and more people are dying or having adverse affects from the vaccine than from Covid. Only time will tell, of course. Main stream media keeps these things quiet, so can you wonder why conspiracy theorists abound. You can get the full facts from listening to UKCOLUMN or Vernon Coleman. If you do listen to them, I would appreciate hearing your views.

Regards, keeping the faith, Alan Connett

OUR VIEW

tour operators are finding more and more Brits looking to travel there as soon as possible which has seen Portuguese airports being unable to make more runway space available, so to accommodate the demand, larger aircraft (which are not operating on long haul routes) are being drafted in.

The only other feasible destinations from the Green list are Israel (which is not the safest of places to visit at the moment due to the conflict with Hamas) and Gibraltar which has a limited amount of hotel accommodation but an almost complete relaxation on Covid-19 restrictions, as the bulk of

the adult population (as well as cross border workers) have been vaccinated.

Now that the Gibraltar Government has also reduced the cost of pre-departure Covid-19 tests to £30 when leaving Gibraltar Airport, it is likely that more and more travellers from Spain will try to get to the UK via the Rock.

This could actually be a problematic solution, as travellers will be required to reveal where they have spent the previous 10 days and if Spain, will still be required to quarantine and take two tests.

Maureen Munn-keating Spain should modify. Brexit good for UK, but they should think about all Brits who have invested and paying mortgages, utilities, insurances, ITV etc etc.

Barbara James The whole thing just wasn’t thought through properly and the UK population were not made completely aware of all of the changes, the vote was simply about money and immigration...

Pat Somers The Shengan rule was always there. Spain let UK residents stay longer, did not need to. But people voted for Brexit and that took us out of the EU. So now it’s not up to Spain really it’s up to the EU. I did not vote for Brexit.

It’s the UK’s fault not the EU. UK wanted to leave, they were not forced to.

Kathleen Sutcliffe So so so happy we got BREXIT, and absolutely DID know what I was voting for, no more being shackled to the corrupt club called the EU. And if all you can worry about is how much time in the sun you can have, I really don’t give a monkey’s, far more important things than topping your tans up. We are OUT, get over it.

Alyson Davies EWN - you mean a majority voted for Brexit, not ‘most of us’.

Linda Rushton I certainly didn’t vote for Brexit, it’s causing far more trouble than was thought.

At the EWN, we pride ourselves that reports are accurate and fair. If we do slip up, we promise to set the record straight in a clear, no-nonsense manner. To ask for an inaccuracy to be corrected. Email: editorial@euroweeklynews.com

HEALTH & BEAUTY

www.euroweeklynews.com

By Clinica Britannia

A simple sleep test

IF you wake up still feeling tired, fa‐ tigued, with a headache or suffer with snoring, then you could have a condition called Sleep Apnea. Being overweight, smoking or drinking too much alcohol can also be an added cause.

Sleep Apnea is when periods of shallow breathing occur whilst asleep, temporarily blocking the air‐ ways causing the brain to become de‐ prived of oxygen. When the brain be‐ comes aware of this, it triggers the body to arouse for long enough to snort to take in air, allowing for nor‐ mal breathing to resume.

It is important to contact your GP to obtain a diagnosis if you are suffer‐ ing with ongoing symptoms as this could be life threatening if not treat‐ ed.

Available now is a new revolution‐ ary simple sleep test which can diag‐ nose Sleep Apnea. Data is recorded

and sent directly to your smartphone whilst sleeping with the use of a sen‐ sor attached to your finger tip.

If you have a positive diagnosis your GP can advise on further treat‐ ment necessary to relieve the Apnea.

Often a personalised Mandibular splint crafted by a Dentist can be used to reposition the jaw and tongue to improve the airflow, which in turn will enable a healthy night’s sleep.

Appointments Landline: 965 837 553 / 965 837 851 • 24H/365D Emergency Number: (+34) 607 255 755 • Opening Times: Mon - Fri: 9:00am / 5:00pm

Clinica Britannia Calpe Av. Ejercitos Españoles 16 BIS, 1st Floor, Calpe

20 - 26 May 2021

EWN 51

By Clinica Britannia

Your questions answered

by Dr Vicente Mera DOCTOR, my gums are red and swollen and when brushing my teeth, they bleed, what could the cause of this be as I am worried that I will lose my teeth?

It is especially important to consult with your GP who can give you a diag‐ nosis as red or bleeding gums are warning signs of gingivitis, most often caused by poor daily dental hygiene.

Gingivitis is a mild, often painless form of gum disease, it only affects the gums causing tissue inflamma‐ tion, redness, swelling, and bleeding from routine brushing or flossing.

The results of this being left un‐ treated are that the teeth become mobile and as a result need to be ex‐ tracted.

Healthy gums are pink and firm and do not bleed during regular brushing or flossing.

Gingivitis can be cured by seeing

DR MERA: Will answer your questions. your Dentist for regular check‐ups and periodontal cleans to remove tar‐ tar and plaque that causes gum irrita‐ tion and inflammation. The Dentist can also give advice on aftercare and correct oral hygiene steps to help maintain a healthy mouth.

If you have a question, you want answered email Dr Mera personally on 545152@gmail.com.

52 EWN

20 - 26 May 2021

www.euroweeklynews.com

HEALTH & BEAUTY

Advertising Feature

Virtual dog walk raises funds for charity

DOG lovers have united with Spec‐ savers Ópticas to help raise €1,325 through a virtual dog walk.

Hundreds of people took part in the charity event to support the im‐ portant work of the ONCE Founda‐ tion for Guide Dogs (FOPG). The charity breeds and trains guide dogs, so they can be placed free of charge with people who have se‐ vere visual impairment in the com‐ munity, enabling them to live the fullest lives possible.

Jorge Martínez de Lizarduy Araico from Specsavers Ópticas Benidorm, praised the public for their generosity and also thanked his colleagues across all nine Spec‐ savers Ópticas stores for their ef‐ forts during the fundraising cam‐ paign.

“We want to say a huge thank you to everyone who took part in this fundraising campaign and do‐

RAISING FUNDS: For Guide Dogs.

nated. This is a great step towards raising the €5,000 we have pledged to donate to FOPG at the end of the year. We will continue to collect money in the stores for the rest of the year and would appreciate any

donations in the collection tins in our stores on the Costa Blanca.

“You can also donate online, please write SPEC in the box for your second surname so we can identify that it is part of our

fundraising effort.”

The virtual dog walk took place between April 26 and May 2, to co‐ incide with International Guide Dog Day (April 28). As part of the cam‐ paign, guide dog user Daniel

Lahitón explained why it is so im‐ portant to be able to have his guide dog Gracie.

“They act as our eyes and give us so much independence,” he ex‐ plained. “I would love it if many more people could have access to a guide dog, as it really has changed my life and I couldn’t live without her. Before I depended on my wife and my children so much, but now I am independent and I wish that many more people could have the same opportunity.”

Irene Garcia, Director of the ONCE Foundation in Fuengirola says that to breed, train and place a guide dog with someone, it costs approximately €35,000. She was delighted to hear of the Specsavers Ópticas campaign and said that all contributions are welcome, as there is so much demand for guide dogs.

Specsavers Ópticas has stores in Calpe, Jávea, Torrevieja, Benidorm, Guardamar del Segura and La Zenia on the Costa Blanca. To find your nearest Specsavers Ópticas store and donate visit www.specsavers.es or visit www.perrosguia.once.es to find out more about this fantastic charity.

54 EWN

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20 - 26 May 2021

Bedroom entertainment FEELING drained isn’t the only consequence of failing to get a proper night’s kip.

Research has shown that sleep deprivation is linked to depression and bipolar disorder, among other things.

So to keep your body’s natural sleep rhythm in harmony, incorporate these few suggestions into your bedtime routine.

For a start, stop staring at your mobile phone, or laptop in bed. In fact, get rid of them from your bedroom altogether, including the TV. Staring at the screen for endless hours will stop you from falling asleep, unless through sheer exhaustion.

This is because the screens on these devices emit a blue light that blocks the release of melatonin into your system, the very thing that tells your body to go to sleep.

In fact, research has suggested that it is best to switch off all electronic devices at least 90 minutes before going to bed.

However, if you simply can’t live without your bedtime fix then decrease the light on your screen or use the night light option, if your device has one.

Create a routine as night-time approaches which is conducive to sleep. Begin to darken your surroundings by dimming lights or using lamps around the house.

And why not entertain yourself by getting back into the habit of listening to the radio, reading a book or having a bath? Such pre-sleep habits will allow you to mentally unwind and prepare for a good night’s rest.

HEALTH & BEAUTY

Pampered pleasures

SPA THERAPIES: That special touch can offer much needed relief.

SOMETIMES we need to retreat from the world and pamper ourselves a bit. And surely there is no better way than to escape for a few hours into the secluded world of a spa.

Heading to a spa for the day or even a few hours lets us disengage from work, family and friends. The experience allows us to slow down and re-generate the body. The waters improve our blood circulation which sends more oxygen and nutrients through the body and cells.

Time at a spa, can include

more than just lounging in a range of bubbling waters of differing temperatures.

There are often a range of therapeutic therapies available to relax and relive chronic pain, such as arthritis or sciatica.

Such therapies can also cause serotonin to be released by the body creating a ‘feel good’ factor. Certain massages can stimulate the lymphatic system which helps the body to get rid of toxins. O ther treatments such as body exfoliation can cleanse the skin, refining pores and offering much-

needed relief.

The investment isn’t just for the day either. T hese benefits remain even after the spa. W ith a body renewed and recharged with nutrients and elements, the mind too will feel rejuvenated and relaxed for days to follow. If the price of a spa visit is too prohibitive for you, don’t fret. There are other options out there to have a near-spa experience.

S pain has some of the most beautiful outdoor hot natural springs on the planet. Apart from the natural beauty of these outdoor

springs, their real beauty is that they are free.

And many of them offer more than just piping-hot, mineral-rich thermal waters. T he natural mud residue that lines many of these natural spas is just the thing that your body is aching for.

S imply claw the mud away from under the spa waters and cover your body. This replenishing mixture will extract impurities from your skin and exfoliate it, leaving you vibrant and fresh. A nd, of course, for free!

PETS Who’s looking after your pets this summer?

56

IT is worth remembering that if you are planning a trip later this year you still need to plan early for pet and house‐sitters. Per‐ haps you are already making plans for a staycation get away. Even if you are plan‐ ning just a short trip you’ll know that you simply can’t travel with some pets. Mature pets may benefit from staying behind so they can follow their routines at home. So, plan ahead.

Take a moment to plan ahead for pet and house‐sitters, if you have trips planned later this year. Now is the time to get ready. We will help you. Our philosophy is that we are all in this together. These are the steps to take: 1. Register as a homeowner on House SitMatch.com 2. Choose a Premium account (£89 per year) to ensure you can help online when needed 3. Create a profile with photos of your pet and the house 4. Post a house‐sit advert stating your plans for next year’s holiday Covid permitting Do you need a pet‐sitter in 2021? Then get started right now.

How does it work?

HouseSitMatch can help you find suitable sitters. Join our network for a small annual

SPONSORED BY

Choose sitters to suit your pets. fee. You get ID checked for safety and then build your advert saying when you are going on holiday. House‐sitters see your advert, they respond and you choose the sitter who’ll care for your pets.

Trustpilot Testimonials ‐ 4.8 / 5 Excellent rating (New Trustpilot rating scale) Here’s what members have said about us‐ HouseSitMatch found us a perfect house‐ sitter…

HouseSitMatch found us a perfect house‐ sitter while we were away in Canada and we

were delighted with the care and attention that HouseSitMatch took in helping us find the right person.

Ros Morris ‐ Dog owner How do you join?

Please register online via our website www.Housesitmatch.com ‐ Choose a membership plan ‐ Please note prices go up soon so sign up now on subscrip‐ tion to secure these prices: • Standard (DIY option) = £69 pa • Premium (with support at each step) = £89 pa

Do you need a house-sitter? Get in touch. House-sitting can be a win-win for both parties, free house and pet-sitting, and the experienced and checked sitters get free accommodation! Register as either house-sitter or homeowner with a 20 per cent discount using coupon code P2020 - an exclusive offer for readers. To find a house or pet-sitter go to www.HousesitMatch.com.

www.euroweeklynews.com • 20 - 26 May 2021

Advertising Feature

Why short-legged dogs have an increased risk of having a disc herniation PEOPLE think it is due to the long back, but the primary cause is a degeneration of the discs lying between the verte‐ brae. Not all short‐legged dogs have long spines. Dogs that suf‐ fer from intervertebral disc de‐ generation are chondrodys‐ trophic.

Dachshund, Basset Hound, Welsh Corgi, Coton de Tulear, Shih Tzu, Lhasa Apso, English Bulldog, Pug, French Bulldog and Beagle are examples of chondrodystrophic breeds.

The discs consist of an outer ring, called ‘Annulus Fibrosus’ and a soft gelatinous core, called ‘Nucleus Pulposus’. The nucleus contains some molecules that are capable of attracting water and keeps it soft and elastic. In Chondrodistrophic breeds, the molecular composition of the nucleus changes and the water content drops. Its content be‐ comes calcified. The pressure exerted by this material causes

the fibres of the fibrous ring to break in its most dorsal part and allows the material to escape in‐ to the spinal canal, compressing the spinal cord.

The location of the spinal cord injury will affect the signs that the patient shows. Neck in‐ juries result in all four limbs be‐ ing affected. If the back is affect‐ ed, then only the hind limbs will be affected. Sometimes, one leg may be more affected than an‐ other. Signs can range from pain alone, to complete paralysis.

Radiographs are generally not accurate in confirming the diagnosis or the exact location of the disc extrusion/protrusion.

Rather, advanced imaging is re‐ quired. The CT scan could help to locate the disk herniation but Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a very specialised imag‐ ing modality that is able to con‐ firm the location and severity of the disc extrusion/protrusion ac‐ curately.

In Costablanca Norte: Anicura Marina Baixa Hospital Veterinario www.veterinariamarinabaixa.com

Cooling down our feathered friends MANY of us have birds as pets but how can we best care for them when the sun is shining and the temperatures are soaring?

Heat stress, or heat prostration, is a serious problem during the summer months.

Birds have no sweat glands so cool themselves by rapid breathing with their mouths open or, by hold‐

ing their wings out slightly from their bodies. The underneath of a bird’s wing has no feathers and the main wing artery is located in that region. If a bird is running a fever or suffering from heat stress, this area will feel very hot to the touch.

If a bird is displaying the effects of heat stress, it needs to be cooled down with a gentle spray of water

or damping with a sponge under his wings, feet and beak. He should be taken immediately to a vet.

In mild cases of stress, or to cool a bird down, take a clean sponge and dip it in cool water squeezing onto the skin under each wing. Al‐ low the bird to drip dry in a cool, well‐ventilated area. Air movement is important to allow the bird to continue to cool down but ensure the breeze doesn’t blow on to him.

Birds kept in smaller cages love being sprayed using a fine hand mist of cool water. For large aviaries, installing a fogger to mist the entire area will have a massive cooling effect. These are easily in‐ stalled and attach to a garden tap.

Alternatively, hose down the floors and walls of the area or put a small sprinkler on the outside of the aviary. This can be a bit messy and some seed might sprout but the birds will probably enjoy nibbling the new seedlings as well.

Birds require fresh water changed daily but on hot days the water can become warm. Birds won’t drink warm water and won’t be able to rehydrate themselves.

Change the water a couple of times in the day so it is always cool.

Birdbaths are an excellent option but change the water frequently.

SERVICES

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AIR CONDITIONING

REMOVALS & STORAGE

20 - 26 May 2021 CHIMNEY SERVICES

PLUMBERS

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EWN

20 - 26 May 2021

PLUMBERS

REMOVALS & STORAGE

AIR CONDITIONING

SERVICES

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REMOVALS & STORAGE

INSURANCE

20 - 26 May 2021

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60 EWN

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20 - 26 May 2021

INSURANCE

REMOVALS & STORAGE

TESTIMONIAL Hunter: Picked up a copy of your paper at Frankie's this morning.

Thanks very much.

You have made my day, week, month etc..

“

TV & SATELLITE

TV & SATELLITE

SERVICES

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61

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AIR CONDITIONING

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Miquel 655 282 175 www.mbelectrics.es (288732)

FOR SALE WANTED Gold, Silver, Rolex & Patek Philippe Watches Tel – 678 716 693 (288662)

GARDENING SERVICES DAVID THE TREE GUY Cutting, trimming & removal of trees. Torrevieja, Alicante, Benidorm areas. 722 652 173 (291904)

GENERAL SERVICES MISTER Fix-It handyman, available in Jalon Valley area, hourly rates, 657 189 519 (290302)

CLASSIFIEDS

LEGAL www.iurisunited.net Lawyers.

Tax advice and bookkeeping. All Gestoria Services. Experts in Brexit and Residence Permits. NIE Numbers. FREE 1st.consultation.

Ask Oliver. Tel: 606 051 000 info@iurisunited. net (291473)

METAL WORK

WE ARE currently the market leader in our country in the sale of direct car, motorbike, home and company fleet insurance.

Since we started out in 1995, our philosophy has always been to offer an excellent service with the best prices in the market. For the most competitive quotes in English, call Linea Directa on 902 123 309. (200726)

PAINTER/DECORATOR

GOLD WANTED

MAN & VAN for hire, cheap & reliable. Jalon Valley & surrounding area. 636 100 873 or 966 480 757 (292502)

REFURBISHMENT REFURBISHMENT We specialise in refurbishing homes and restaurants. For more information please visit us on www.muxasari.com/english/ or Tel: 687 070 164

ROLLER SHUTTERS ROLLER SHUTTER REPAIRS, awnings, motors, mosquito blinds. Calpe + 50 kms. 659 464 992 www.toldosalchemy. com (290412)

SITUATIONS VACANT

MISCELLANEOUS

HEALTH & BEAUTY CHIROPODIST/PODIATRIST, Philip Mann, clinics in Benissa, Moraira, Javea, Calpe and Albir. 686 912 307 (282699)

GOLD & SILVER Bought & Sold, Rolex & Patek Philippe Watches Tel – 678 716 693

MOTORING

PETS NEED YOUR PETS TAKEN CARE OF? Not kennels, just a friendly home. Large fenced area. 699 790 080 Altea (288697)

WIGS WWW.WIGS-R—US.ES Indoor Market Rincon de Loix, Benidorm. Monday-Saturday 10-3. We also have Scrunchies, Extensions, Ponytails. Catalogue orders. Private appointments after 3pm. 681 049 502 (290625)

PLUMBING RIGHT PLUMBER - plumbing & drainage for a honest, affordable, professional service call 656 303 236 (288474)

PROPERTY

INSURANCE FED UP OF NOT BEING SENT YOUR RENEWAL? CUT YOUR INSURANCE COSTS AND STILL HAVE 100% COVER. YOU HAVE TRIED THE REST NOW TRY THE BEST WITH SOS INSURANCE. WE CAN EVEN INSURE YOU FOR UPTO A €1000 OF WATERLOSS. CALL 686116297 (WHATS APP TO) OR VISIT www.sosinsuranceinspain. com or email tracey@sosin suranceinspain.com (290495) BENEFICIAL INSURANCE SERVICES. Car, Home, Business, Travel, Life, Funeral, all insurances available. Policies in English. BEST rates, covers & service. Immediate quotes. Tel 961 129 215 / 622 275 561, (WhatsApp) info@beneficialinsuranceinspain.com or visit www.beneficialinsurancein spain.com for online quote.

(291458) M O T O R I N S U R A N C E . For the most competitive quotes in English call Linea Directa o n 9 0 2 1 2 3 3 0 9 , yo u c o u l d s ave a s m u c h a s 3 0 % a n d you can transfer your existing no claims bonus. Call Linea Directa on 902 123 309 for motor insurance with a hum a n vo i c e i n E n g l i s h f r o m Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm a n d s ave m o n e y n o w !

(200726) STAY SAFE! Abbeygate Insurance Call 971 277 455 For your security www.abbeygateinsure. com

DECORATORS W.D. GILMOUR. Painter & Decorator.

Established 35 years in Moraira.

ESTIMATES FREE. Call William on 609 691 776 or 966 490 602 (291535)

PROPERTY WANTED RETIRED couple looking for long term rental in La Marina Baixa – prefer two beds. Needed urgently – call Janice on 0044 7736 251 800 (279523)

AUTO BASTIAN mobile mechanic. Tel 608 860 725.

QUALITY LHD & RHD Vehicles bought & sold. All paperwork undertaken quickly & professionally.

Immediate payment for all purchases. Mobile / WhatsApp +34 600 726 221 Office +34 965 687 946 www.fwreurocars.com info@fwreurocars.com (292431)

SITUATIONS VACANT

If you want to rent your villa near Javea this summer. Please give us a call. We have over 15 years of experience in villa rentals Walter 0034666 327 729 or see www.cbcasas.com (2924899

LOOKING FOR ENTHUSIASTIC people to join me working from home online or direct to friends, neighbours etc. No start up fees. Please Whatsapp or message Rosh for more info. +34635 386 888 (292448) INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITY available for 4 motivated people to make a life changing income.

Part time or full time as your own business paid weekly. Work the hours that fit around your lifestyle and benefit from the largest fluid market in the world. Call/Whatsapp 624 227 207 (292447)

STRUCTURAL SURVEYS MARK PADDON BSc Hons.

MCIOB, CAAT - LOCKDOWN REMOTE WHATSAPP VIDEO ADVICE available for reduced fee Tel: 653 733 066 / 962 807 247 www.costablancasurveyors.com (288711)

TRANSLATIONS SPANISH INTERPRETER for all your appointment needs, has car. Effective, Friendly & Affordable service. Call 609 679 808

WANTED

REMOVALS/STORAGE BENIDORM and surrounding areas. Two-man removal. 678 067 163 (289999)

XXX RELAXATION Please note that in Spain there is NO legislation banning adverts in this section. Neither regional nor national governments are able to pass such a law due to rules governing freedom of publication and printing.

READERS OF A SENSITIVE DISPOSITION MAY FIND SOME OF THE ADVERTISEMENTS IN THIS SECTION OFFENSIVE.

XXX VARIOUS VIAGRA / KAMAGRA / CIALIS. BEST PRICES. FREE DISCREET DELIVERY. ALL AREAS COVERED. TEL: PETER 644 139 274 (292337) MALE/FEMALE viagra, cialis, kamagra jelly, mixed trial packs available, all areas mail order.

604 385 476. viagra4you19@ gmail.com

62 EWN

20 - 26 May 2021

www.euroweeklynews.com

MOTORING

10 Favourite Motorcycles J O S É M A R Í A R I A Ñ O , the Secretary‐General of the National Association of Companies of the Two‐ Wheel Sector (Anesdor), explaining data compiled by his company for the month of April 2021, re‐ vealed that a total of 17,019 light vehicles were registered, of which 14,517 units were motor‐ cycles, 1,672 mopeds, 268 tricycles, and 562 quadri‐ cycles.

According to Mr Riaño, “The data for the sector in April 2021 has been very close to that of 2019, figures that invite opti‐ mism. The impact of the pandemic continues to be a determining factor and whether in these circum‐ stances enrol‐ ments grow, we believe that when vaccination is completed and the situation normalis‐ es the market will be strengthened.”

Adding, “Citizens are showing that they are betting on the motorcycle both for their mobility and to enjoy their leisure time, and this is being translated into data favourable despite the complex social, economic, and health situation.”

The 10 best‐selling mo‐ torcycle models in April 2021 in the Spanish mar‐ ket, according to data from Anesdor were: 10. Honda X‐ADV regis‐ tering 225 units.

9. Sym Symphony 125 registering 257 units.

8. Yamaha XMAX 300 registering 284 units de‐ livered.

7. Kawasaki Z 900 with 295 units registered.

6. Honda Forza 125 reg‐ istered 295 units.

5. Honda SH 125I which registered 323 units.

4 . Ky m c o A g i l i t y C i t y 125 registered 431 regis‐ tered units.

3. Piaggio Liberty i‐Get ABS with 469 units regis‐ tered.

2. Honda PCX 125 with 503 units registered.

1. Yamaha NMAX 125 was the best‐selling motorcycle in Spain in the month of April 2021, with 718 units regis‐ tered.

All information as reported by laopionionde malaga.es.

TOP SELLER: The Yamaha NMAX 125.

MOTORING

www.euroweeklynews.com

ROAD TEST

by Mark Slack FEW cars stick in the mind of someone who drives dozens each year; some better than others, and the original Ford Focus was one of the few whose first drive is vividly recalled, from 1998. It was a game chang‐ er for anyone who enjoys the act of driving and has meant that every succeed‐ ing Focus has a lot to live up to, and rather stiffer competition. The good news is that the Focus is still a class leader in the fun factor league.

My test model, a (very) mildly sporty ST‐Line X Edi‐ tion, provides a slightly lower and firmer suspen‐ sion but nothing extra un‐ der the bonnet, but the Fo‐ cus can still make the winding road home some‐ thing to anticipate with rel‐ ish.

Power comes from a 1.0‐ litre EcoBoost, three‐cylin‐ der turbocharged petrol en‐ gine with electric assistance, making it a mild hybrid. With 155PS ‐ there’s

20 - 26 May 2021

Ford Focus ST-Line X Edition - a class leader in the fun factor league a lower powered 125PS ‐ the test car is priced at €31,217 (£27,160).

Give the car a gentle poke with the proverbial sharp stick and it will fairly gallop along, and it also feels lively and responsive in corners, a lot like that now aged first of the line from the last century, in fact. It passes the bench‐ mark 62 mph in 9.2 seconds and on to a top speed of 131 mph. All this and a combined 52mpg.

The generous standard equipment list includes au‐ to lights and wipers, auto dimming mirrors, keyless entry and start, heated seats and steering wheel, power folding door mirrors, heated windscreen, active cruise control, rear privacy glass, wireless charging, cli‐ mate control, navigation and Bluetooth and power adjustable driver seat.

On a more practical level, the newest Focus has found

enough space in the back seat for a couple of lanky adults to enjoy the ride and the boot is plenty big enough for family duties.

Ford has, thankfully, kept

buttons and knobs for fea‐ tures like adjusting the au‐ dio and heating while giving the cabin a touchscreen feel elsewhere. It looks classy enough, if not some‐

thing to give a Golf a sleep‐ less night.

Classy styling highlights include ST‐Line badging, smart alloy wheels, red brake calipers, a flat‐bot‐

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tomed steering wheel, alloy pedals and red stitching on the upholstery and steering wheel. The ST‐Line offers a sporting look without the harder edge of the more performance versions and in the test car’s Desert Blue paint finish ‐ a €834 (£725) extra cost option ‐ looks very classy.